Solstice
by vegasmom
Summary: Three years after Breaking Dawn, the adventure continues... When a new vampire comes to Forks, the wolves get an unexpected surprise as one of them befriends her. Then, a sudden turn of events captures the attention of the Volturi summoning their return.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Prelude to a Vampire**

**Volterra, Italy - 1955**

Tara Spaulding sat on the bed of her hotel room, overlooking the clock tower in the square of Piazza dei Priori. She gazed out the window at the giant fountain in the center of the square. The water droplets glistened in the sunlight as they shot up into the sky and then fell back down into the pool below it. _Beautiful._ _Like diamonds_, she thought.

It was her 16th birthday. The trip to Italy was gift from her parents, one she desired since she was a little girl. At the age of three, her parents discovered she had a talent for art when she took interest the Renaissance artists, remembering all their names and paintings almost as quickly as she learned the alphabet. Early on, her parents knew she was gifted, possessing the ability to draw anything from memory having the ability to capture every detail in her mind, even after seeing it only once and she normally spent countless hours of her days drawing or painting.

Tara's father was Huntley Spaulding, the owner of a large fiber company in New England. He was good man whose assets were never of greater value to him than that of his own values and love for his family. Her mother Anna also had a love for the arts and was excited to be able to tour some of the most famous and inspiring works in history with her daughter.

As Tara sat in her room, waiting for her parents to take her to breakfast before heading into the city; she took out her set of oil pencils and sketched the fountain in the square. Her hand whisked over the paper as she drew incessantly. Before she could finish the drawing, her parents both entered greeting her with smiles and traditionally singing Happy Birthday to her. Her mother slowly walked in carrying a cake with both hands, trying not to let the candles go out. Her father carried a tiny wrapped present in one hand and an envelope in the other as he approached.

Tara excitedly set her sketches aside so she could see what surprises they had for her. After she blew out the candles on the Dutch chocolate cake, (her favorite) her father handed held out the tiny gift box. The paper fell to the ground as she quickly tore it off and then anxiously opened the lid. Inside was tiny gold locket. The front of it had three letters engraved on top, T.E.S for her initials; _Tara Elizabeth Spaulding. _When she opened the locket, it contained a photograph of her parents that was taken only a few months ago. With her mother's help, she put it around her neck.

The final and biggest gift however was the one in the envelope. He handed it to her and she peeked inside pulling out three tickets. They were for a private tour of an art exhibit, exclusively for distinguished tourists only as her father explained. In reality though, it meant he bribed several in people in order to find her the perfect present. Tara and her mother were extremely excited about seeing this exhibit as Huntley told them they'd being seeing some oldest and most famous collections in history.

After breakfast, they spent the morning touring the Pinacoteca, an art gallery in Palazzo Minucci-Solaini that was founded in 1905 and consists mostly of works by Tuscan artists from 14th to 17th centuries. Then by sunset, they headed to the Roman Theatre where they were scheduled to meet with their tour guide at approximately six o'clock in the evening. As they arrived, they spotted their docent standing out front, eagerly waiting for them. The macabre looking man truly stood out among the crowd of people in his hooded, black cloak and dark spectacles. "Are you Mr. Spaulding?" he said in a voice that sent a chill down Tara's spine.

"Yes, I am, and this is my wife Anna, and my daughter Tara," Huntley replied

The man held out his chalky white hand. "Greetings, I'm Demetri." Huntley shook it.

"A bit chilly tonight is it?" he asked, noticing the man's hands were like ice.

"Indeed," he replied as he grinned from behind his hooded cloak. The unusual pair of spectacles he wore completely covered his eyes. Tara thought it odd that he wore them, since the sun had already set behind the horizon.

"It's a pleasure to be your escort for the evening. Is this your first trip to Volterra?" he pried.

"Yes it is," Huntley said. "It's also my daughter's sixteenth birthday today. I was hoping to find a special event for her this trip and your tour sounded absolutely amazing. I was wanted to make this a very special experience for her."

Demetri inhaled deeply as though he were savoring a delicious aroma then looked right at Tara when he spoke. "Ah, sixteen….such a momentous year. Happy birthday young one," he hissed, flashing his teeth at her. She only stared at the man in silence. Her heart beat sped up as he grinned and then twirled around on his heals signaling for them to follow.

The street lights came on as the night began to fall on the city. Demetri guided them through the dark, unfamiliar streets of Volterra taking them on a long walk that veered off the cobblestone walkways and into labyrinth of narrow alleyways that were no longer lit up. Anna put her arm around her daughter's shoulder as they walked, trying not to lose sight of their tour guide. Tara clung to her mother's side starting to feel nervous about where he was taking them. Just before reaching their destination, Demetri turned to face them and smiled. "I assure you, this will be a night you'll never forget." He then signaled them to follow him through a giant wrought iron gate at the entrance of a very antiquated looking palace. Huntley and Anna returned a pleasing smile to the man but Tara didn't smile back. She couldn't quite figure out what it was, but she felt something unsettling about him.

When they entered the aged building, Tara observed every detail. The brightly lit foyer was covered in wood paneling and the floors were carpeted with a lush green tapestry. She gazed at several spot-lit paintings of the Tuscan countryside that hung on the walls. Tara quickly noticed there was not a window in the place - not anywhere.

As they followed Demetri down a long corridor, he finally removed the hood of his cloak, exposing his thick black, wavy hair that stopped at his shoulders. He left the dark spectacles on his face oddly enough, even though they were indoors.

A low chatter of many voices could be heard in the distance. It came from more tourists. All of them headed in the same direction, piling into a large, round room at the end which looked as aged as the rest of the place but masked with many pieces of modern decor and art. Several glossy tables arranged about the room held crystal vases on top of them, containing vibrantly colored bouquets of fresh flowers. Some of the guests sat comfortably on the dark leather couches that were arranged in a cozy grouping around a large Asian rug that was centered in the room. They all seemed to be waiting for something.

Demetri stopped to speak again. "Ah, here we are. Now, if you will all just wait right here a few moments for the main event, I promise it won't be long." He waved his hand at several pieces on the wall. "Please feel free to look about and enjoy our small collection here in the waiting room until we begin the main event."

As he left, the heavy double doors they came through closed shut with an echoing sound and the people in the room continued to mingle, chattering amongst themselves and looking about the room. Anna pointed at some of the paintings on the walls and tugged at Tara's arm to come look at them with her but she wasn't the least bit interested in them. An unusual odor in the room turned her stomach as she breathed and a sick feeling sank in her gut. She no longer wanted to stay. "Mom, I think we should leave. I don't like this place, it's really creepy," she said tugging on her mother's sleeve.

"But why? I think it's absolutely beautiful sweetie. Don't you? It's very majestic."

"No, I don't like it. Something doesn't seem right. Can we just go back to the hotel?"

Anna whispered so Huntley couldn't hear. "Honey your father paid a great deal of money for this. It's your birthday present, don't ruin it for him. It's all a bit mysterious but I think its all part of the show. It'll be fine, sweetie you'll see."

She rubbed her daughter's arm trying to sooth her but Tara didn't feel quite so secure as her mother. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she scanned the room. There was a mural painted on the vaulted ceiling above their heads and a balcony that circled the room with several doors on the upper level, all closed. She also spotted two more doors on the opposite wall of the room, tightly secured as well.

Several moments passed while they waited when suddenly she noticed the creaking sound of hinges as they turned with a door. Then seconds later, she heard another. She glanced at the large entry door they came in. It appeared to be secured still. She turned to look at the other two at the back of the room but they were also shut tight. Before she even had time to look up and check the balcony, she heard the screams coming from every direction. Panic set in the room. People pushed and shoved each other, running everywhere.

At first, she didn't know why. She wondered if the building had caught fire, though it seemed impossible, considering the entire place was crafted in stone. When she scanned the room to look for the source of the mayhem, she caught a glimpse of the creature just before it attacked. It crawled out from a hole in the floor that had been strategically hidden under the giant rug. The figure appeared to be human at first; its ghostly white complexion reminded her of their tour guide but something else about it became very apparent to her - its _eyes_. They like nothing she'd ever seen before. They were completely demonic. The irises were a deep crimson around the edges, darkening until they were black around the pupil and they were completely focused on her mother. The creature crashed through one of the leather couches as it targeted her, easily smashing through it like it were made only of toothpicks. The creature snarled, exposing a row of razor sharp teeth just before it reached her mother and sank them into her throat.

"Momma!" Tara shrieked in horror.

"Anna! No!" her father yelled as watched the creature take her down. Before Huntley could get to his wife, another one leaped from the balcony and landed on a man in front of them as he ran towards the exit. The creature bit the man's arm but it didn't eat the flesh. It only appeared to be draining his blood. When Tara screamed again she caught the creature's attention and it eyes panned up from its meal. Blood dripped from its mouth.

Unable to move, she stood paralyzed by fear as it growled at her. Without even thinking Huntley grabbed Tara by the arm, pulling her as he headed for the entry way in which they came through. He wanted to get his daughter out of the room before the creatures could kill her too. Not knowing if Anna was still alive or not, he would go back for her once he knew his daughter was safe, but he knew he had to get her out of the room first.

Huntley could not find any handles or knobs on the towering doors. He tried squeezing his fingers between them to pull them apart, but they didn't budge. The lock on other side had been bolted shut.

Fewer screams echoed though the room now as the creatures spread about, feeding on the tourists. While Huntley still searched for a way out, Tara spotted one of them feeding on a young boy. It looked up and fixed its scarlet eyes on Tara. Unsatisfied by its small meal, it tossed the child to the side and lunged for her. The creature ripped the sleeve from her shirt and bit into her shoulder. Tara screamed as the pain seared though her arm. She felt as though someone shoved a hot poker in her shoulder.

"Tara!" Huntley yelled as he thrust his body at the creature. To no avail, he struggled to pull it off her. His actions only angered the creature as he disturbed its prey. Suddenly, the creature let go of Tara and lunged at Huntley. Her father struggled as the blood drinker latched onto him.

Tara screamed in horror as she lay on the ground, twitching and watching her father being ravaged. "Hide Tara!" her father breathed his last words before it plunged its teeth into the base of his neck, "_Hide_!" he gurgled and then exhaled his last breath.

She wanted to run for the doors at the other end of the room but she could barely move. The pain crippled her as it began to spread through her entire body. She crawled under the large mahogany table next to her and curled into the fetal position. She lay there helpless under the shoving her fist in her mouth to muffle her screams as the fiery venom traveled through her veins.

Tara watched in terror as the creatures took down every last person in the room. They ignored her however. It was as if they couldn't see her or didn't notice she was there. Finally, her vision faded into blackness. The only thing echoing in her head her head over and over were her father's last words to her.

"_Hide Tara, Hide!"_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Fifty-four Years Later**

**Present Day: ****Dartmouth College Campus, New Hampshire**

Alice had predicted partly cloudy skies with bouts of sunshine for their trip but for the time being the sky was completely filled with thick gray clouds. Edward and Bella exited the admissions office at McNutt Hall and headed towards the auditorium for a group information session followed by the campus tour at Dartmouth College. It was Bella's first big trip outside of Forks since her transformation.

Her original plans to attend Dartmouth had been abruptly put on hold the day she discovered she became pregnant with her daughter Renesmee just a little over three years ago while on her honeymoon. Bella had planned to quietly disappear with Edward and start college in the fall after they married. She wanted to spend a little more time as a human with him and enjoy certain aspects of having flesh and blood. She worried that intimacy with Edward would not be the same once she made the transformation into a vampire. Her choices came to a screeching halt though once Renesmee came into her life and she never looked back. It was though she couldn't even remember what life was even like without her. Edward and her daughter were her priority and nothing else mattered. Since Renesmee's development was exceptionally fast, Bella didn't want to miss a moment of her precious life. She spent as much time as she could with her daughter during the day, reserving her nights for her husband.

_Renesmee's advancements were astonishing with her first year being the quickest and then progressively slowing down over the last two years. Now her growth only happened in spurts with her last one recently happening over night. Since growing into a young teen (Carlisle estimated she was at the age of 14 or 15 year old) she started becoming much more independent. Bella managed to stop hovering over her so much and Edward finally talked her into finally considering college again. She long sacrificed her own desires to care for her daughter over the last three years, but now that little Renesmee was growing and spending more and more time with Jacob, she felt comfortable with the idea of returning to school again._

Edward and the family helped Bella prepare for this day as best they could also by working on her tolerance to be near so many humans. It was one thing to be around her family and close friends that she cared deeply for, it was another thing to be in a room full of complete strangers that smelled like a blood buffet to her. When her eyes finally shifted from the deep burgundy to a softer golden tone, it allowed her to go out in public. Alice always kept a close eye on Bella's future and didn't foresee any problems but the extra hunting trips always helped.

Their orientation was scheduled to be held in the Spaulding Auditorium. Edward studied the history of the college before they arrived, knowing the auditorium had been named after a prominently wealthy philanthropist and business man that donated a great deal of money to the school. He also knew the man mysteriously disappeared while on a vacation with his family in Italy many years ago.

As they strolled down the corridor Edward squeezed Bella's hand tightly sensing her discomfort. The overwhelming scent of human blood burned Bella's throat as she walked past the rooms filled with students. She felt secure with him at her side, knowing there would be no way she could do this without him. His presence gave her comfort and strength, though she couldn't help but think that a little mood control from Jasper could probably do her wonders right now. Bella knew her first year at a college would be a challenge.

Several newcomers mixed with students in the hall, all hurried to class rooms. Others stood in groups talking amongst themselves. As Bella walked past them, she felt the stares coming from every direction and whispers coming from some of the girls strolling by. A few made comments about her but most of them were noticing Edward. She didn't need to be able to read minds to know they admired him. She choked back several hisses trying to contain her emotions. Jealousy flooded over her when she detected a group of girls ogling at her husband. As the two of them walked by, Bella clearly heard their hearts beats speeding up. She suddenly felt Edward's arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. She wasn't quite sure if he was worried she might bite someone or perhaps that he had another motive for his action. Just then, his face changed and his mouth hardened into a straight line as he tuned in to the minds of a few boys that walked by gawking at Bella. He tried very hard to ignore them.

After leaving the admissions office, they decided to travel on foot across campus, taking advantage of the comfortable cloudy weather that New England offered them for the day. After crossing through the Bedford Courtyard, they entered the large concert hall where Edward stopped just to the right of the entrance pulling Bella tight up against his body. She felt his breath on her ear and neck as he spoke. "So…how are you doing?" he asked.

"Great. As long as I'm with you of course," she tried to sound confident. "How about you, what's with the uh…_face_?"

"Oh… nothing I can't handle," he sighed. "You know, I remember high school boys being aberrant but I'm realizing how much worse they will be here," he said as he scowled as a few more boys passed them. Their thoughts really stood out from the rest. From the corner of her eye, Bella caught one of them staring at her intently. Edward disliked his thoughts the most and he let out a low hiss. The boy walked faster, bolting into the room and sinking into his seat.

Bella wrapped her arms tighter around Edward's waist and stood up on her toes to meet his lips. She reached for his face and concentrated, staring into his golden eyes, opening her loving thoughts to him. His eyes softened. Once she had him melting in her arms she thought about the boy that passed them. She envisioned herself chasing him down the hall as he ran, screaming in terror. "Bella!" he gasped, trying to hide a smile.

"What?" she giggled. "It's just a thought."

As they entered the giant auditorium, Bella counted nine-hundred seats within seconds. The students piled in, finding seats for themselves and Edward searched for a section no one had claimed yet. He chose two seats on the far end, trying to give them a little privacy. He eyed a news paper laying on one of the seats and picked it up, looking at it as he sat down and immediate spotted the heading of the story on front page.

_**Mysterious disappearance of blood units still baffles police in Local County.**_

Edward stuck the paper in Bella's book bag just before taking his seat. He listened to the other students while they settled in. Bella continued to eye the room. A podium stood at the front of the room and dozens of multi-color panels covered the ceiling with a multitude of recessed house lights that reminded her of a starlit sky. She counted exactly five hundred and sixty four heart beats in the room. It amazed her how Edward could simply zone out all the voices that ran through his head all day. She imagined it would be extremely distracting while trying to concentrate on a lecture. Edward excelled at it though, having years of practice. Most of it bored him anyway. He had little desire to listen in on the adolescent minds that filled the room and after spending four years in the same high school in Forks, he knew every mind by heart. It all had become very mundane as he described it. It wasn't until Bella had come to Forks that he found any interest to listen in on the minds of all her close friends in attempt to appease his curiosity.

Edward started getting a feel for his new surroundings as he tuned in to the voices. Most of the students were nervous and a little lost in the confusion. Several were far from home and alone for the first time in their lives. The rest sounded like the normal buzz he was used tuning out. Though the voices in the room began to settle as the Dean entered to make his welcoming speech, the noisy thoughts buzzing in Edward's head remained just as loud for him. For Bella, man's footsteps echoed loudly through the silence. He gave the microphone a quick blow to see if it was on and then began rambling on about the school's background and admissions. She listened intently, trying not to become distracted by delicious aroma that filled the room. It was as though her food called out to her. She immediately shook her head trying to re-focus on the speaker's voice.

Edward became instantly bored with the Dean's speech, already knowing what he would say even before he begun. When he moved onto the subject of financial aid procedures, Edward faded out for a completely, focusing his attention on something _much_ more interesting to him, his wife. He put his hand over hers, using his intuition to sense what she was feeling. He didn't need to read her mind to know her throat ached from the smells in the room. She smiled at him and held his hand tightly.

Nearly thirty minutes passed. Every now and then, Bella would gaze over at Edward. He continued to stare at her distracting beauty, soaking in every perfect feature. He slid an arm around her shoulder and played with a strand of her hair, twirling it through his fingers. She never grew tired of the intense devotion and attention her always gave her.

As the speaker droned on during his speech, Edward's continued to ignore him. After all, he was there mainly for Bella's benefit; yet through all the chatter in his head, something came through very clear to him - something odd that caught his attention. His body stiffened and he sat up straight. His hand no longer played with Bella's hair and his concentration suddenly became diverted. Bella noticed his peculiar behavior and it made her nervous to watch him scanning the room with a disturbed look on his face."What's wrong?" she whispered in a completely inaudible tone that only he could hear.

But then Edward did something she didn't expect. He pulled out a pen and wrote on one of the handouts they were given. **Not sure. Something's off****.**

She thought it odd that he didn't speak since human couldn't hear them or even see their lips moving. Edward's eyes panned across the room as though he was searching for something… or someone. He shook his head and went back to observing the lecture.

"_Maybe it's nothing",_ Bella hoped silently in her head.

As the manifold of voices still rambled through his head, something unusual caught his attention again. He sat stern faced for a while and then turned and gave Bella an uneasy look. Then he wrote on the note paper again.

**I don't think we're alone****.**

Bella's eyes narrowed, looking at him even more confused.

Then he wrote again, one single word.

**VAMPIRE**

Her eyes widened. "_What? Who?" _She thought but this time allowing Edward to hear her when she touched his leg and unshielded her mind. She also understood now why he didn't use verbal communication knowing, that a vampire within close range would be able to hear them.

**Unsure, but it's a female**_**. **_He wrote again.

"_Jane!" _Bella thought instantly and her mind started racing. "_The Volturi is here? What could they want now?"_She wondered_._

Edward wrote another response.

**I don't think it's the Volturi****. **

He glanced at Bella to see her expression and she shrugged at him with a worried looked on her face. Edward listened intently for a few more seconds and then put his pen to the paper again. **She's alone.**

They patiently waited for the lecture to end. Once it did, they jumped up moving as quickly as they could towards the exit. Edward and Bella stood out in the center of the corridor. He sifted through dozens of voices in passing, listening intently to try and track down the suspect.

"This way," Edward said as he reached for Bella's hand and walked with her down the corridor.

They ended up in an outdoor Courtyard near the main entrance to the museum. Bella spotted the rude boy from earlier, staring at her again along with a couple of his friends. This time Edward wasn't as interested in his glaring peer. "She's out here and she's noticed us," he said. "She's still wondering why we're following."

"_Who_ is she? Is she feeding here?" she wondered.

"I don't think so. She's not thinking about hunting humans at all."

"Well what _is_ she thinking about then?" Bella wondered.

Edward gave a brief smile. "Actually, right now… she's looking at you." He scanned the area to see if anyone was appeared to be staring at Bella. "…and thinks you're beautiful. Can't argue with that." He winked.

Just then, Bella spotted a young girl standing in the court yard not fifteen feet from them. Her long black hair covered a portion of her face, hiding her flawless pale complexion. The shiny, gold locket that hung around her neck completely stood out against her drab and colorless apparel. Bella clearly saw the initials T.E.S, engraved in the front of it. She blended in well with the other students except for the fact that she appeared almost too young to be a student there. The moment Bella spotted her glaring red eyes however, she knew right away it was her.

"She's about to leave," Edward said.

The girl began moving again. Since the sun began to peek out of the clouds they knew to be careful as they followed her. Edward continued to inform Bella as he listened to the vampire's thoughts. "She just took off into the parking lot," he said.

"I know! I see her," Bella replied.

"_You do_? Where?" Edward asked as he continued searching.

"Right there!" Bella pointed but Edward saw nothing - nothing but humans, so he thought. She wondered what was wrong with Edward's eyes that he couldn't see the glaring red eyes that stared back at them. Suddenly the vampire was on the move again. "Oh no! She's headed right for that break of sunlight. What's she doing? Is she crazy? She'll give herself away!"

The girl ran through the parking lot, heading straight at a moving vehicle. She leaped on the hood, startling the driver who instantly slammed on his brakes. Then she stopped abruptly to look back at her followers. The ray of light beamed off her skin in every direction.

"Shoot! Too late! Everyone will notice her now. What should we do? Want me to tackle her? Or I could cause a distraction," Bella suggested.

Edward continued to read the girl's thoughts. "Not necessary. I don't think anyone's going to notice her. They can't see her… just like I can't see her."

"Um, you don't see the _shiny_ girl in the parking lot?" Bella wondered how he could possibly miss her.

"No, and I think I've figured it out. She's able to control my thoughts. She can manipulate them to make me see what she wants about her and she doesn't want to be seen. As usual though, it's not working on you and she's frustrated." Edward understood that feeling all too well. Before he could continue, the girl disappeared running into the nearby forest.

"She's leaving. Do you think we let just her go?" Bella said.

Edward nodded looking out at the forest though he still saw nothing. "Yes, I think it would be best for now. She'll be back. Come on… we're missing the tour." He put his arm around Bella and turned to head back but she continued to stare out towards the far end of the campus where the girl had run off to. The vampire's shimmering figure stood just inside the perimeter of the trees gaping back at her.

Edward always knew that buying a property near Dartmouth would be a good investment and he'd purchased one just before they married in the event that they needed to move one day. The purchase came in handy now and he was praising himself for buying the place. They were able to avoid the hassle of a hotel and got to enjoy the comforts of a home and a bed…though there was only _one_ thing they need that commodity for and they made very good use of it that evening.

The following day when they returned to campus, they took a tour of the Hood Museum of Art, located just next to the auditorium. They spent over an hour viewing several of the museum's collections from many ancient cultures and regions of the world.

Suddenly Edward detected the presence of the girl. "She's back," he whispered calmly.

Bella looked around and saw the girl standing in the shadows trying to peek at them from a distance. She seemed more curious than threatening.

"Edward, she's so young, not much bigger than Renesmee." she said feeling sorry for the girl. "How could anyone…well, any vampire even consider doing that to a child?"

"It happens. It's rare though. Many times if one feeds on someone too small they wouldn't even survive," he stated with certainty.

Bella cringed at the thought of it. "That's just horrible."

"Yes, and it's difficult for young ones. As you know, the Volturi would normally step in because they are unable to control their urges. This one seems to be handling herself quite well though, I'm quite impressed. It seems as though she's been mentored at some point in her life. She's very curious about what we're doing here."

As Edward and Bella walked through the museum with their group, the girl followed watching them assiduously. Edward listened to her thoughts intently so he could find out more about her.

"So… none of these people here see her?" Bella asked as the casually walked side by side holding hands.

"No, it's like she's invisible to them."

"Hmmm, well should I…?" Bella thought to suggest she try and shield the girl's powers so Edward will see her.

Edward knew exactly what she was going to suggest. "No, don't. You may startle her if realizes she's no longer concealed. She's hiding for a reason and I'm trying to figure out why. It's okay though, I can hear her and I sort of have a picture of her from her mind. I don't think she's as young as you suspect."

"No?"

"No, she's a teenager, about sixteen." He shook his head. "Her mind is so busy. It's hard to sift through her thoughts. She's unique though…quite rare. She actually has a conscience."

"What do you mean?" Bella

"She doesn't kill. Look…" he said as he dug into her back pack and pulled out the newspaper he found in the conference hall the other day. "She's stealing blood to survive, so she doesn't have to hunt." The paper was folded back to expose the story.

"Okay, but how do you know _this_ is her?" Bella asked as she tapped her finger on the paper.

Edward just gave her a funny look.

"Oh… right," she said. It was obvious he was picking her brain and she felt silly for asking. "So then, is she all alone here?"

"Yes, it appears that way. I think she's been alone a long time."

"How sad," Bella said looking at the girl, feeling sorry for her.

"Yes, she is. She seems to be hiding for a reason though. I haven't quite figured out what it is yet."

She turned back to Edward. "Maybe if we talk to her..." she started to suggest.

"I'm not so sure if we should approach her yet. Not till I'm sure it's safe."

The group of people that were with them finally moved on, leaving Bella and Edward standing in the tiny room alone. When Bella looked back at the corner the girl stood in, she was no longer there. "Hey, where'd she….?" Before she could turn Edward spotted the girl as she came into his view.

"Bella!" Edward snapped, reaching out to protect his wife.

As Bella whipped around, she came face to face with the vampire as she stood only inches from her face. She then leaped back, completely startled by the girl's stealthy maneuver. Edward put his arms protectively around his wife. "You see her _now_?" she said.

"Clearly," he hissed staring as well. He shoved Bella behind him and stood between them.

The girls red eyes narrowed as she peered at their faces. "Why are you here?" she demanded to know.

Bella curiously peeked around Edward. "We're here to see the museum, and the college, that's all," she replied.

"But why? What are you looking for?" the girl asked.

"We're not looking for anything. We're considering attending," Bella stated plainly.

The girl seemed confused. She cocked her head to the side, wondering what Bella meant. The thought of vampires actually attending a college with other humans intrigued her. She assumed she was the only one of her kind that even attempted to be civilized and though she lived among humans, she never socialized with them. They never even knew she existed there. Edward decided it might be best to introduce them and explain some things to her. "Excuse me," he politely interrupted. "My name is Edward Cullen and this is my wife, Bella." He gestured to his wife. Bella waved and smiled. "We aren't following you, we're simply taking a tour of the campus and we're only here for the orientation and to view the area, nothing more. I apologize if we alarmed you."

The girl curiously stared at their golden eyes. She'd never seen vampires without red eyes before. "It's our diet that makes our eyes this way," Edward said.

The girl's expression changed from curious to stunned. "What? How did you know what I was thinking?"

"Uh, sorry. It's a gift… I read minds. It's just a habit for me to figure people out. I didn't mean to intrude."

She knew a mind reader once, but Edward's gift was unique, requiring no physical contact. She didn't like the intrusion but was too curious about them to care. "Fair enough….so…what kind of _diet_ are you on exactly?" she asked quickly moving onto the next subject. Her head, filled with questions.

"Animals. We're um…vegetarians...so to speak." Edward winked.

She blinked, staring in awe. "Animals? That's_…. all_?" she cocked an eyebrow.

"Correct," Edward replied smugly.

"Ew," she grimaced at the thought of it.

Edward and Bella both looked at each other and chuckled. The girl seemed even less harmless now as she displayed very normal behaviors like of a teenager. Edward could see she meant no harm as long as they were of no threat to her.

The thought of animal hunting surprised her though. It made her realize they were not killers and that they were peaceful vampires such as herself. She admired that. Never before had she encountered other vampires that didn't hunt for human blood. One other thing bothered her however. "So how is it _you _can see me?" She asked Bella, "No one _ever _sees me, when I don't want them to."

She shrugged. "It's just what I do. I seem to have immunity to other vampire's abilities. Edward can't even read my mind, unless I allow him to."

"Really?" She blinked absorbing it for a moment. "That's pretty slick_._" she smirked. "I can't say I've ever seen a gift like that one before. You would surely come in handy in a fight," she added. Having a shield would be a great defense, she thought. Then she paused momentarily and decided to introduce herself. "Well, I'm Tara and you're kinda crowding my home."

"Home? You mean you _live_ here…at the college?" Bella seemed surprised by the idea of it.

"Well, I _stay_ here, yes. Everything I need is here…pretty much."

It all made perfect sense to Edward. She had plenty to occupy the mind at a college. Food was not far off the campus grounds and sleeping wasn't an issue. She could just roam the campus indefinitely. The more Edward thought about it, the more he thought of it as great idea for a vampire. She seemed very intelligent for her age, realizing she must spend hours reading and taking advantage of her resources there. He continued to scan her busy thoughts for as much background as he could, hoping he could provoke some answers if maybe he asked the right questions. "So you're alone here?" he asked.

"Yes." she replied in a tinier voice than before.

Edward caught a glimpse of her family's demise when she ran the memory through her mind. "_Ah, there it is…. Uh! Horrible_!" he thought.

Tara changed the subject. She didn't like thinking about that part of her life. "You two are not from here are you?" she asked. It was all too obvious to her.

"No we're from a small town in Washington called Forks." Edward didn't think she'd have heard of it but she knew exactly where it was. It surprised him until he realized she had nothing better to do with her time than study. She was full of information.

"Mmm, yes. Well you won't get such generous weather here. You'd be indoors much more than you'd like I think," she said.

"Well, Dartmouth is just a consideration for us. We're planning on touring all of our options. We're not quite sure if we're ready to leave our family behind, but it's good to know what's out there for us, regardless. Also I wanted to expose Bella to the outside world more. Forks isn't exactly the most exciting place. She's stepping out from her new born phase and this is her first trip outside the state."

Edward suddenly realized that was a bit too much information for her. She knew what baby vampires were like and Bella didn't fit the description of one in the least. She also couldn't understand what he meant about having a family. Tara just quietly stood with her arms folded, staring at Edward with disbelief. "Um, I guess that was too much information for you all at once," he admitted.

"_Family_? Is that what you call your Coven?" It was such an unusual term for a vampire to use, Tara thought.

"Yes. And we do consider them family. There are nine of us total, though two have left for college themselves and only visit occasionally now." Edward was referring to Rosalie and Emmett who were both in Alaska attending college and enjoying some private time away.

"_Nine_ in your coven? That's quite a large uh… _family _you have," Tara said.

"Yes well, we're all adopted, so-to-say. The eldest, Carlisle is the head of our family. He's like a father to me and his wife Esme is very much like our mother. She's quite the nurturer. Right now she is feeling a bit of the empty nest syndrome, especially since we have moved to a little place of our own as well…it's not far from them though."

"Mother and father…?" This all sounded very odd to Tara. "And these pseudo parents of yours… they take in new vampires?"

"That's correct."

"Interesting. I suppose they're all like you then?" she asked.

Edward understood that she referred to their diet of animal blood. "Yes, all like us. We've vowed not to harm humans. We can't help what we are but we don't have hurt anyone. We choose not to," he said.

"Believe me when I say that I understand how difficult that must be for you all. I admire your will power."

"I do believe you, but what about this?" Edward asked, pulling the newspaper from Bella backpack and showed it to her.

Tara looked at the paper, reading the headlines and frowned. She hated to make the news. She knew she needed to be more careful knowing it could blow her cover. Edward was positive now that it was her stealing the blood. She shrugged. "Hmm, well at least no one gets hurt this way." She took the news paper and chucked it in the trash bin in the corner.

"Ah well, you forgot to read the part where they had to call for an emergency blood drive for several accident victims that needed a transfusion. You also draw attention to yourself when you go around stealing like that you know." Edward said, realizing how much he started to sound like Carlisle now.

Tara smirked. "Good observation. I'm not too worried at this point though. They will never find me, plus… there will always be donors," she said.

Edward rolled his eyes realizing she was stubborn like a teen too.

Bella took a liking to Tara. She wished they didn't have to leave her here, all alone in the museum. She grabbed Edward's hand and squeezed it tightly.

Edward listened and then turned to her. "We'll see," he spoke softly.

Tara watched, as the two of them communicated. She realized they were having a private conversation and thought maybe she should depart. "Well I guess as long as I know you're not a threat, I should leave you be to finish your tour. I'm sorry if I intimidated you," she said to them deciding to leave.

Edward saw it all clearly now, as she exposed in her mind who she was hiding from. "I was wrong about you," he said. "You _are_ Volturi."

Bella gasped. "What?"

Tara grimaced disliking the mind-reading gift again "_Was,_" she said very frankly.

"Hmm, and you escaped. That's nearly unheard of but I see now how your gift assisted you with your extrication."

Tara looked at Edward fearfully realizing she was completely exposed, unable to hide her thoughts from him and unable to conceal herself from Bella.

Edward sensed her dismay. "Oh no, please…we will never expose you to them. We are trying to avoid the Volturi as well. We actually feared you might be one of them as well, sent to spy on us."

Tara relaxed. "I suppose we share something in common then, don't we?"

"Yes, we do," Edward replied.

Tara started feeling more comfortable with them now, feeling quite sure they wouldn't hurt her and she was very curious to get to know them better. She wondered more about the rest of the family too. She changed her mind about them leaving and instead made them an offer. She liked the company and it had been a long time since she'd been around other vampires. "Well if you would like, I could give you my own personal tour of the museum. I know this place way better than these clowns," she said, referring to the campus guides.

Edward gave her a sly smirk. "I'm quite sure you do. That would be superb. How about you lead the way?" he suggested.

Tara smiled. She couldn't remember the last time she had a reason to but it felt good. She showed them several exhibitions, explaining each one with thorough detail. She knew the museum as well as every other aspect of the campus like the back of her hand. She took them to one of her favorite rooms where they had a large collection of Native American art. She pointed to one of her favorite pieces. It was a ledger drawing of an Indian warrior and a large black wolf.

She spent the next few hours getting to know them, asking Bella dozens of questions until Bella finally decided it was her turn. "So why did you decide to live here?" she asked the girl.

"This is where my mother wanted me to study once I graduated high school. I've been all over the place really but this was home for me originally. I wanted to come back. My mother and I both loved the arts….." she trailed off remembering more of her past.

Edward's cell phone rang while they talked. It was Carlisle replying to Edward's text to call him. He stepped away to take the call privately.

After several minutes, he finally regrouped with them and Bella stared at him curiously wondering who the call was from.

Edward looked right at Tara."That was Carlisle. He seems to know about you already."

Tara remembered them mentioning the one named Carlisle as the head of the family. "You told him about me? You told him I'm _here_?"

"No, I hadn't said anything. You see… one of our family members Alice, she sees the future and once you exposed yourself to us you became visible to her also. And now, well…."

She waited for him to continue, expecting the worst.

"Alice says you are coming home with us."

"I'm _what_?" Tara sounded confused.

Bella smiled. It's what she hoped for. She couldn't didn't want to go home leaving the young girl here all alone. She knew Carlisle and Esme could help her and they would be more than willing to take her in, especially now that Rosalie and Emmett are gone. It would help fill the void that was present in the home.

Tara's eye brow popped up. "She says I'm returning to Washington with you?" she said perplexed.

"Yes." Edward replied.

"So... what if I refuse?" she crossed her arms.

"That's certainly your decision if you choose to do so. We would never force you. But the invitation is there."

Tara thought about it. It was an opportunity to have a home, something other than the empty void she'd been living for years.

"Consider this… I do feel we could protect you even more so in Forks. Alice can see if the Volturi are coming. She watches them at all times. You certainly wouldn't have to live in fear anymore." Edward added.

"Oh Tara, I hope you'll consider." Bella smiled at the girl.

It all sounded quite tempting to her now. "Well… when do you leave?" she asked.

He could see she was bending on the idea now. "We'll be heading back in the morning. I can take care of the tickets immediately to assure we're all on the same flight…if you are interested of course."

"That wouldn't even be necessary." Tara knew she could simply hide herself.

"So is that a yes?" Bella asked with a little excitement in her tone.

"Um…" Tara thought about it, wanting to but worried she might be intruding.

"Whatever makes you comfortable, but the ticket is not a problem for us. And I assure you, you would not be imposing on our family in any way. Your stay can be as temporary or as permanent as you would like it to be. If you ever decide to leave we'll gladly fly you anywhere you like."

Tara couldn't speak. She only displayed and enormous smile and then leaped at him hugging him. If Edward hadn't seen her intentions before she acted, he would have been alarmed.

"We'll take that as a yes," Bella said


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Forks**

Bella saved many of her stories for the long flight. She filled Tara in on the Cullen family and their history, carefully avoiding certain details of events that she felt should be protected for the time being.

She didn't mention their involvement with the wolves, nor did she tell her about their past dealings with the Volturi. She also held back on telling Tara about Renesmee. Bella wasn't quite sure how she might react to the news of their half-human, half-vampire daughter. She felt that chapter of their lives might be best kept for a later time.

Tara took great interest in the account of Bella and Edward's love for one another. She became completely absorbed in all the details as Bella described her move to Forks, meeting Edward and the rest of the Cullens. She told her about all the times when Edward saved her life, from Tyler's speeding van to her near attack in Port Angeles and she even told her about their encounter with James, explaining how she nearly died when he bit her. Bella gave no more stories past that point and allowed her to absorb it all, leaving the rest for another time. Tara automatically assumed it was James that turned Bella, never questioning otherwise.

"That's absolutely incredible. I mean, your story would really make a great book…fictional of course," Tara said to them.

"Of course," Bella winked.

Heavy rain and dense clouds greeted them when they arrived in Forks. Alice showed up at the airport to pick them up. She came alone knowing there would be three of them arriving and needed the extra seat space. As the trio came into view she cheerfully pranced over to meet them at baggage claim giving Bella the first and biggest hug. "I _totally_ missed you guys!" her voice sung.

Bella rolled her eyes at her. "_Really_ Alice… it's only been a few days."

"I know but I've been thinking about what it would be like if you actually lived there… you know… all the way across the country….far, _far_ away….at college." She put on her best pouty face not liking the idea of them leaving Forks to attend college. It was hard enough having Rosalie and Emmett gone, she didn't want to lose them too so when Edward and Bella began touring some of the more distant colleges she started laying the guilt on quite heavily.

Tara peeked out from behind Edward and Bella and once Alice's eyes quickly spotted the girl, her frown lifted. She was excited to finally meet the girl she'd seen in her visions. "Hello Tara, I'm Alice!" She gave the girl an overly friendly hug. The second she stepped back and took a good look at Tara's frumpy attire, the fashion Nazi began to ramble on in her mind about the girl's appearance. _Ugh! Geeze Edward, you sure can pick em! I see her and Bella even have the same fashion secrets. Well, looks like I have more work to do…Hmmm, bet she's a size four…Oooh, that lacy pink dress I just bought would be darling on her!_

Edward just groaned. Bella stifled a chuckle as her instincts told her that Alice was already plotting something. She clearly had that look in her eye that said _"a make-over is coming"._

Tara remembered Alice from Bella's stories. "So…I hear you can see the future. You see anything good in store for me here?"

"_Oh I already see a new wardrobe in your future," _Alice rambled on in her head.

"Uh, Alice?" Edward nudged her.

"Oh…um, hmm well, I already know you are gonna love it here in Forks with us," she said sweetly. "…but other than that, your future seems very cloudy now for some reason. That's so odd." Alice looked a little frustrated by her inability to see Tara's future.

"Really? Well, I suppose that just means I'm not very exciting," She shrugged. Tara thought perhaps her life was too boring for Alice to read. After all this time, nothing extraordinary has ever happened to her, so why should moving to a town like Forks make any difference, she assumed.

As requested, Alice drove Edward's car for the ride. Edward and Bella packed very light, sharing only one suitcase between them and Tara only brought a small backpack, containing a few sketch books and her iPod. It was all she owned.

Knowing Edward would insist on driving home, Alice strategically placed several brochures for the University of Seattle and a few other local colleges on both front seats. Bella grabbed hers off the seat first, gazing at it with a smirk on her face.

Once Edward opened his door, he also noticed one on his seat. He grinned then shoved them in the center console. "Nice one Alice," he said.

"Oh, well I'm not worried anymore. You guys are staying here. I'm positive of it now," Alice said smugly after confirming their future.

When Edward pulled into the driveway at the Cullen home, he leaped out and zipped around to open the doors for each of the girls. Tara stepped out of the car and nervously scanned her surroundings, absorbing in all the new sights and smells. She detected an unfamiliar scent in the air and thought perhaps it could be an animal nearby. Bella and Edward mentioned something about mountain lions but she thought it smelled more like a coyote. When Edward scanned her thoughts he suddenly realized they would need to fill her in on a few things right away. He then led her home to meet the rest of family that eagerly waited for them. Esme and Carlisle stood in the great room as they entered both smiling. Esme instantly greeted her with a warm hug. The idea of having a new addition to the family thrilled her. "Hello Tara, I'm Esme and this is my husband Carlisle."

Carlisle nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Welcome to Forks. Please… make yourself at home."

"Thanks. I really appreciate your hospitality I've heard so much about you on the trip here."

Just then, another vampire strolled towards them, stopping alongside Alice. "You must be Jasper," Tara said, remembering from Bella's stories.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," he nodded. He was just glad they didn't bring a human home.

"So, how about a tour?" Esme offered. "I can show you all the rooms. We have a couple extra you can use if you just need some privacy."

"That sounds great." She smiled."You're both so kind. I can see why Edward and Bella speak so highly of you both."

Edward knew she felt pretty good about coming with them now. He could see that was taking to Esme right away. Her warm smile and benevolent demeanor made her very likable.

As Esme walked Tara through the entire house, showing her every room, they stopped at Edward's old room. The walls had been repainted a soft crème color with lavender trim and a floral border wrapping around the perimeter of the ceiling. A Rembrandt painting hung alone on one wall, while two botanical ones hung on the adjacent wall, accenting the color scheme. A new Bose system replaced Edward's old one. Several stacks of CDs sat on a shelf next to it, neatly arranged in perfect alphabetical order. The neighboring shelves contained piles of books, all neatly alphabetized as well. A dresser stood in the corner, with a purple lamp on top of it. Behind the closet door was a variety girls' clothing. Last but not least, Tara noticed the frilly canopy twin bed, centered in the room and neatly made with giant lacy pillows propped half way down the lavender bed spread.

"_Very girly_," she thought. Tara didn't bother to ask why it was there since three of the other rooms also had beds as well. She assumed they belonged to the couples, but didn't bother to inquire about it knowing vampires needed privacy at times.

As she strolled through the house with the family, she kept looking at their eyes. It fascinated her. "So you're all on this animal diet I see."

"Yes, that's correct," Carlisle answered. "We've all vowed not to kill humans."

"I've never heard of such a way of life. But… you're a physician, so why don't you just consume human blood like I do? You have access to it so easily."

"It's much harder to control urges when you live among humans. We've weaned ourselves off human blood to decrease the risk of accidents. I believe it's more tempting to fall off the wagon, so-to-speak, if you're consuming it every day."

She shrugged. "I don't find it so hard. Every city has a hospital and as long as I have a food source, I'm fine," she spoke quite sure of herself.

"And if you're not..?" he pondered.

"Well, ah…" Her eyes panned down. "I _have_ resorted to an animal or two in the past. Guess you gotta do what you gotta do, ya know?" she admitted.

Carlisle admired her willpower to abstain from humans completely on her own. "It's not so bad really. It also gives you the sport of the hunt. Animal prey is a bit more challenging, not much, but they are faster and have better senses then humans, so the hunt is much more thrilling for us."

She wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, except they kinda taste like _crap_."

Jasper snickered at her comment, making the others giggle as well. He liked the new girl already.

"Yes well, you get used to it," Carlisle replied with a chuckle. "Trust me, the game here is pretty good and a carnivore's blood is a lot closer to human blood."

"Oh…" She sounded a little disappointed. "So I guess that means you won't be hooking me up while I'm here then?" After she found out he was a physician, she hoped she would no longer need to steal her food any longer. But as it looked now he wasn't about to help her in the way she had thought.

He patted her shoulder. "We'll have to work on you, I see."

They finally finished the tour out in the garage where Alice took the opportunity to proudly show off her shiny yellow Porsche. Tara's favorite item however, was the black motorcycle next to it. It happened to be the same one that Edward purchased to go riding with Bella. He never used it even once. Jasper assumed ownership of it when Edward abandoned the idea of riding with Bella. Tara looked over at Edward with a childish grin hoping she could take the bike for a ride some time. The face she made, reminded Edward of one Renesmee would make when she wanted something.

"So, what do you think?" Bella asked, hoping Tara started to feel more comfortable. She remembered her first visit to the Cullen home and how much she really wanted to feel accepted by them, hoping they had achieved that with Tara as well.

"Your home is beautiful. I just love how open and spacious it is." Tara noted. "There's just one thing I can't seem to figure out though."

"_Uh-oh"_. Edward thought as he scanned Tara's head again.

"What is it Tara?" Esme hoped there was nothing wrong.

"Well, please don't be offended but, what is that peculiar… _odor_?"Tara stressed the last word trying not to be rude, but she really didn't refer to it as a good smell.

"_Damn_!" Edward thought, as he picked up on the voices that came from the forest. He knew exactly what odor she referred to now.

Bella touched her hand to her face as she started realize what she meant also. "Oh yeah… _that_."

Jacob got news of the new vampire in town and wanted to scope things out. Even though she was a guest of the Cullens, the treaty didn't apply to her and he needed to see for himself if she could be trusted in Forks. He and Renesmee were together and headed straight for the open garage door. Renesmee squealed and laughed as she held on to the scruff of Jacob's neck while riding on his back.

Tara's eyes widened with fear as she watched the enormous reddish-brown wolf barreling in her direction. She only heard about the stories of werewolves but never actually saw one, nor was she sure they even existed - until now. She hissed, leaping in the air like a cat and hurling her body backwards and landing on Alice's Porsche. Her feet made crushing dent in the hood.

"No! Not my car!" Alice screamed as she jumped right in front of Jacob, stopping him in his tracks. "You _stupid_ dog! Look what you did! Why did you have to show up looking like that?" she fumed.

"_Oops"!_ Renesmee thought as she slid off his back with an enormously guilty look on her face. "Sorry Alice," she apologized, since it was all her idea. Jacob just barked a wolfly laugh.

Edward stifled back a laugh himself. He couldn't help but be tickled by his daughter, even when she misbehaved a little. She wanted to run over and give her parents a hug but Edward shook his head at her as soon as she thought about it, letting her know to hold off until it was safe.

Just then, everyone noticed - Tara had disappeared.

"_What the… where'd she go_?" Jacob thought.

Edward knew she only cloaked as a defensive tactic.

Two more wolves, Leah and Seth strolled in together, overhearing the commotion.

Bella, the only one who could still see Tara, tried to convince her to come down from Alice's car as she stood there frozen in a crouched position, barring her teeth. Seth and Leah both looked at her like she lost her mind. Though they couldn't speak, they communicated telepathically.

"_So umm, why is Bella talking to Alice's car_?" Leah wondered.

"_Whoa! Did Bella do that to her Porsche! Man, Alice looks pissed too!" _Seth thought.

"_Hey where's the new blood-sucker at?" _Leah asked_._

"_She was just here! She must've run off." _Jacob answered.

"_Oh great, now we'll have to track her," _Leah complained.

"She hasn't left. She's on the car, that's who Bella's speaking to." Edward explained after reading their thoughts. They all looked at him as though he were crazy now too.

"Tara, could you please stop doing that. They won't hurt you but they do need to see you," Edward said.

"_No! What are you all mad_!" she thought to Edward.

"It's okay Tara, you can come down. They're friends of ours. They didn't come to hurt you. They just wanted to meet you," Bella said, trying to convince her.

"_Friends? With werewolves? But why? They kill our kind_!" Tara remembered the stories she heard about werewolves many years ago. She thought they were only legends though.

Jacob started to step towards the car to get a closer look and she backed up further up onto the roof of the Porsche. Flicks of yellow paint fluttered to the ground.

"That's it _dog_! You owe me a paint job!" Alice growled at Jacob, pointing out the dents and scratches on her car.

"They aren't real werewolves, they are shape-shifters. They are protectors here in this area and they only came to make sure you aren't here to hunt humans. We are totally at peace with this Pack. They won't hurt you. I promise," Edward explained.

Bella held her hand out to Tara, still trying to coax her down. She worried more about the physical harm Alice might do to Jacob if she stayed up there any longer. Everyone needed to refocus their eyes for a minute as Tara came into view again, stunning everyone.

"_Wow, and I thought the others were freaky_!" Jacob thought.

She finally leaped off but remained close to Bella. Esme came over and put her arm around her.

Everyone just stared for a moment to wait and see what the girl would do next. Tara just glared at Jacob, watching his every move until her attention was distracted by the girl he was with. She noticed the young teen's remarkable beauty but also something else, something unusual - her skin. It was less pale than the others and her scent seemed all wrong - more human, but not entirely. When Tara heard the sound of a pounding heart beat she counted. To her surprise however, there were a total of four!

Jacob took notice to Tara's darting stare. He tensed up, nudging Renesmee to get behind him. Tara wondered if she was human but when she turned to Bella to ask, she suddenly noticed the resemblance in both their features. She did a double take just before turning to Edward and noticing the same thing and gasped in disbelief.

"What…what _is _she?" Tara asked.

Edward decided to explain, since he knew every thought in her mind. "Tara, I know you have a lot of questions. I think it would be best if we took this inside so we may fill you in on some details." He thought it might be easier if the wolves phased and met Tara in human form instead to put her at ease. Jasper worried about the current state she was in and felt the need to help. He hovered near the girl until she calmed down so they could move inside.

Poor Alice stood in the garage for a few minutes staring at the enormous dents and gashes on the hood of her favorite gift from Edward. She let out a huge sigh before she shut off the light and joined the others.

Upon entering the house, they all convened in the living room and Tara huddled very close to Esme. Alice quickly took her place next to Jasper and Edward and Bella stood together with Renesmee guarded behind them. Edward signaled for her to keep her distance until he was ready for her.

Within a few moments, three more people entered the room from the front door. The two tall males, wore only a pair of cut off jeans. Their feet were bare. The third, a female, wore an old t-shirt with cut-offs as well.

"_Humans?"_ Tara thought. Their beating hearts gave them away. Her eyes widened as they walked in her direction. She could only wonder what the Cullen's could be up to. Their affiliation with wolves and humans was completely aberrant to what she was used to. Now she started to feel she got more than she bargained for by coming to Forks. Finally Tara wondered if the humans were the wolves. As she looked at Edward for confirmation, he nodded then began introductions. He first introduced Jacob as head of the pack who only nodded with an unfriendly glare. Leah also gave her a cold stare when Edward said her name but when he introduced Seth, he just stared at her like a deer in the headlights. Edward picked up on something strange but just ignored it and continued to talk. He went into an apology for not explaining things to her before their arrival and began to fill her in on the history of the Pack, why they exist and how they came to a truce with them. As Tara listened, she kept looking over at Renesmee who moved from Edward's side over to Jacob and clung to his arm. She could smell the half-human blood that ran through her veins.

Edward listened to all the questions rambling through her head. "Tara, I have a much better way that this could all be explained to you but I need to introduce you to someone first," he said. Then he turned toward Renesmee and stretched his arm out to signal for her to come over.

Jacob tensed up, grabbing her hand before she got too close to Tara but Renesmee turned and touched his face. The fiercely worried look in his eyes faded and he instantly relaxed. Then Renesmee turned to face Tara again as Edward spoke. "I would like to introduce you to our daughter… Renesmee," he said with his hands on her shoulders.

Her sweet, warm smile didn't reduce the tension Tara felt however. Her mouth dropped when she noted Edward's precise words, _our_ daughter. She looked at the three of them again.

"Your...daughter?" she gasped_. _

"_But…the resemblance is remarkable. She's adopted too?" _She thought, knowing Edward would hear.

"No, she is not adopted Tara. She is our biological child," Edward said very seriously.

"How is that even possible?" Tara questioned as she listened to the thumping heart beat right in front of her.

"I could explain it to you myself however I would like to allow her to do it, if you will permit it. She has a much better and well….unique way of telling stories and can fill you in on every detail."

Tara stared blankly at the girl who started to approach her. Renesmee smiled at Tara. She looked harmless enough she thought. "Um…okay," she replied. "Renesmee…that's quite a name."

"You can call me Ness or Nessie, if you like. Everyone else does." Tara just nodded at her.

Bella cleared her throat to get her attention. She still hated the nick names. Renesmee chuckled. "Sorry mom."

She stopped right in front of Tara and extended her hand to her and spoke in an angelic voice. "I'll need to touch you for this. It won't hurt though, I promise." Her chocolate brown eyes looked right into Tara's. Something about Renesmee's eyes instantly softened a person. Tara nodded giving her approval. Then, Renesmee stepped in and placed her hand on Tara's cheek. She jumped a little as the images began flowing through her mind.

Renesmee showed her every event, starting with her birth, all the way up to the last week just before Edward and Bella left. Tara gasped when Renesmee showed her a vision of the Volturi. After several minutes, Renesmee finally released her. "That was just… incredible," she said, astounded by the visions. It all seemed very unreal for the moment. The images Renesmee implanted in Tara's head seemed very much like dream, but for the Cullens, it was reality

"I know this is a lot for you to absorb Tara. I'm sorry we didn't fill you in sooner than this, but we felt you might not even believe it without proof and Esme worried you'd be afraid to come with us had we mentioned any wolves to you," Edward said.

"Yes, that might have made me think twice," she admitted then she turned to face Jacob. "I saw the Volturi in her vision. You actually stood up to them? I have to admit, you've got some balls to do that."

Several chuckles came from around the room.

"Yeah well, there was no way in hell we'd let those blood suckers her from us." He said trying not to smile.

His courage stunned her. She knew no one stands up to the Volturi, unless they have a death wish. "Well I can tell you …Aro never forgets anyone whose talents he admires and I assure you, he _will _be back to check on your daughter in the future," she warned knowing Aro all too well.

Carlisle spoke up. "Alice is our eyes when it comes to that and she will let us know if and when return."

"That's good then," she said. "You have quite a good defense here. I bet Aro just hates that." She smirked.

"One thing we've discovered is their tracker has difficulty seeing us when we are around the Pack. I have this problem too. It's very hard for me to see Renesmee's future because she is with Jacob so often. The pack seems to cloud my visions. We think the same goes for their tracker as well," Alice explained.

"Since the wolves cloud their sights on us, you can sort-of say we have the upper hand," Carlisle hoped the information would relieve worries.

The mention of Alice made Tara think about what she had done to Alice's shiny new Porsche in the garage. "Oh your car…I'm so very sorry..." she started to apologize.

Her remorse echoed in Edward's head. "No worries. I'll take care of that immediately. It's was entirely my fault for not explaining the situation to her first," he said.

"Really?" Alice perked up. "Cuz I was thinking about changing the color anyway. Maybe a hot red!" she said, in an excited tone.

Edward rolled his eyes. "How convenient_",_ he said.

Jacob had patiently waited his turn to speak and finally stepped in and began to discuss the matter they came for. "Okay so, now that you know all about us, we need to know about you."

"Well, what do you need to know?" Tara folded her arms, trying to look unthreatened by his presence.

"I wanna make sure you're not gonna be a problem for us here in Forks. Edward and Bella filled me in on some of the details and they seem to trust you but _we_ are the Protectors here so I just need to establish that you're eating habits don't cause a problem. We don't want anyone getting hurt." He glared at her red eyes.

"You have no need to worry about me. I'm sure they explained to you I spent most of my time blending in with humans on a daily basis. The Cullen's have been very kind to me and I have no intentions of giving them any trouble, if that's all you're concerned about."

"Yeah well, we'll be _watching _you."

Bella snickered remembering how embarrassed Jacob was the time when Billy had paid him to say the exact same words to her at the Prom.

"Be my guest," Tara said sharply, glaring at Jacob. She had the feeling he was going to be trouble for her.

Jacob exchanged glances with Seth who was looking very uncomfortable suddenly. He avoided making eye contact with the girl the entire time and kept looking off in space like he was on another planet.

Edward had been so busy listening in on Tara's thoughts he did give much attention to the others. Jacob and Leah displayed heavy distrust in the girl. Seth however, kept running very unusual things through his head. When he started thinking about the _Blade_ movie he'd just watched, Edward finally just rolled his eyes and just tuned him out.

Renesmee didn't like Jacob intimidating their new guest so she stepped in. "Hey Jake, be nice to our guest. My parents trust her and so do I. I have the feeling we're gonna be really good friends," she smiled.

"That's because I already said you would!" Alice bragged.

Renesmee rolled her eyes. "I have my own room upstairs. Feel free to make it your own if you ever need your own space," she told Tara. Renesmee slept at the Cullen home more often than she stayed with Edward and Bella since she'd grown older. She knew they enjoyed their privacy and their little cottage felt too small for the three of them.

Then she leaned in and whispered in Tara's ear. "Aunt Alice decorated my room so try not to mind the décor."

"Uh, I can hear you," Alice snapped from across the room with a frown on her face. Renesmee giggled making Tara smile, finally.

"How long do you think you'll be staying?" Renesmee hoped it was going to be a while. It excited her to have a new friend closer to her age.

"I don't know really, I guess as long as you guys want me to."

"Or as long as you can stay out of trouble," Jacob added.

Tara decided she really didn't like this one.

Renesmee wanted to get to know Tara and make her feel more comfortable. Her charismatic demeanor captivated anyone that surrounded her.

When Esme appeared from the kitchen with some food, setting a large tray of sandwiches on one of the tables in the living room, Jacob finally started to relax enough to leave Renesmee's side momentarily to grab one. He couldn't resist anything Esme made. He had to admit he really admired her talented culinary skills for someone who didn't even eat food.

So much attention had been put on Tara, that no one noticed that they were short one person until Esme made mention of it. "Where's Seth?" she asked, expecting him to be fighting Jacob over the food she brought out, and worried that he might not have liked what she made.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Um, I'm not sure. Maybe he just went out for some air. I don't think he's been feeling so well."

"Oh well… I hope he's alright, I've never seen him pass up food before."

"It's nothing personal, I'm sure. Don't worry about him. I'm sure once he's feeling better he'll be back over here more than you want him to."

Esme chuckled. Leah wasn't hungry but came over to ask Jacob about Seth too. She was so busy watching the new girl she didn't even see him leave. She looked over at the front door noticing it was ajar. Then she headed outside to look for him and stared out at dense forest. It began raining heavily and she detected no sight or smell of Seth.

Worried about her little brother, Leah leaped off the porch and ran into the forest to search for him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: First Hunt**

It was Twilight.

Edward and Bella took Tara to their cottage for a very short tour, showing her their humble, nine hundred square foot cottage in a very short time since it was so small. Tara had a good laugh when Bella showed her the enormous closet in which Alice had filled with enough apparel to clothe a small army of fashion models. As she walked through the house, she understood why Renesmee stayed with Esme and Carlisle most of the time since they had so much more room, not to mention it gave the couple so much more privacy.

At the end of the tour, Bella took some time to show Tara a few photo albums she and Esme put together with all the pictures they took of Renesmee, capturing her rapid growth that happened sometimes within a few days or weeks of each other. It amazed Tara to see the pictures of her speedy progression. Renesmee's ability to develop quicker than a normal child bothered Bella the most. She had always worried about leaving her alone to sleep some nights because she knew her little girl might wake up even older the next day. Her life passed by too quickly and Bella knew that before long, Renesmee would physically be older than her. She cherished every moment she had with her daughter. It was also difficult to have to share her with Jacob but she knew it pained them both to be away from each other for long periods of time. She knew the inevitable coming though; Renesmee would soon mature into a young woman and her relationship with Jacob would become more than just friendship.

Once they finished the tour and Bella finished reminiscing Tara decided it was time to return to the Cullen home. Edward and Bella's body language gave off an obvious implication that they were ready for some quiet time together after their long trip. Despite their offers, Tara insisted she would not need an escort. She knew she could easily find the way back. Edward was comfortable with it once he confirmed it in her mind. As she ran through the forest, she sensed something strange and unfamiliar to her; like a magnet attracting her. She paused for a moment to look through the trees, trying to solve the mystery but then thought nothing of it and continued on till she reached the home.

As Tara comfortably settled in and everyone returned to their usual routines around the house, she quietly curled up with a book she found in Renesmee's collection and sat herself by a window in the bedroom. It started raining again and the droplets tapped against the glass like a drum.

Renesmee couldn't resist getting to know her new friend. She buoyantly plopped down next to Tara and grabbed her sketchbook that she left out and skimmed through her artwork. "These are beautiful," she complimented her.

"Thanks." She smiled. Renesmee had been the first person to ever admire her work before. As she flipped through the pages she rambled on about some of her favorite artists, discovering they shared many common interests. Tara decided to set her book aside talk with her for a while. It had been so long since she had any real discourse with anyone she delighted in opportunity to have a real conversation. Before she knew it, a few hour passed by while they discussed art and music and many of the books they both liked. Tara told Renesmee about her many travels around the world before she returned to her home land where she ended up at the college. She explained how living there wasn't much different from attending private school as a young girl. She didn't have many friends growing up since she was so different from the others and not quite accepted. Being alone and invisible seemed the norm for her, even since before she was turned.

Renesmee took to Tara quickly. She loved having someone to talk to outside her family. She could only dream of going to school hoping one day that she'd have the chance so she could be more like other people. She realized now that she and Tara had something in common now; they were both hiding from the world around them. "I would love to attend a college like Dartmouth when I'm old enough but I don't think Jake would go. I'm not sure if he'd ever want to leave here," Renesmee told her.

Tara recalled something she saw in Renesmee's visions that made her curious."I don't quite understand something about you two…what's _imprinting_? Are you like his mate or something?" Tara asked.

"Yes…that's pretty much what it is. We'll inherently always be together and we'll always love each other. It's almost painful to be separated at times."

"But he's…a _wolf._ That doesn't bother you?"

"Not at all. Jacob's a wonderful mate…as loyal as they come. I love him with all my heart. The physical differences mean nothing to me. It's what's inside that matters."

Tara's eye brows popped up in disbelief. It all seems so strange and foreign to her. "And your family accepts this?"

"Yes, they've learned to accept it. It can't be undone. We're bound together for life. Some of them still have the prejudices about it but for the most part…everyone's family," She explained.

"But… you're so much younger than he is, so how does that work?"

"I'm aging quickly. Carlisle thinks I'm about fourteen or fifteen years of age physically but I go through changes so rapidly he thinks I could surpass Jacob within a few more years. For obvious reasons Jacob and I have no physical relationship. Plus my father promised to rip his limbs off if he even _thought_ about it before I matured enough to marry him."

Tara chuckled at the thought of it. "So how long do you think it will take before you're the same age?"

"Who knows, could be a few months or a few years. My aging has slowed down some though. It only happens in spurts now."

"And what about Jacob, is he aging too?"

"No, but he can control it. His phasing keeps him from aging. So as long as he's the wolf he doesn't age. He's been waiting for me to catch up." She winked. "Some of the others stopped phasing once they formed a truce with the family though. That way they can age with their imprint as well. Though… since you came to town, the wolves have no choice. They all started phasing again."

Tara scrunched her eyebrows together. "I don't understand. Why?"

"Theoretically, they only need to transform when vampires are around. It's like a protection mode. Since the alliance between the Cullens and the Quileutes however there wasn't much need for them to change anymore, so they seldom did and controlled their phasing in order for their bodies go back to their natural state. Once you arrived, that all changed again."

"Oh... I guess I messed things up for you then," she said feeling guilty.

"Nah, don't worry. Once they feel they can trust you, things will go back the way they were."

"I hope you're right. I don't wish to be a problem for anyone."

"You're no problem. I'm _so_ glad you're here. It's nice to be around someone closer to my age….well you know what mean."

"Thanks Ness, I appreciate your family for inviting me. I've never been a part anything like this. I hope I don't do anything that will break your trust in me though."

"Yeah well I'm sure you know that my dad's been in your head. He keeps an eye on those sorts of things. I don't think he would have brought you here if he thought you were dangerous."

"I'll have to do my best not to disappoint anyone then," Tara said smiling. She watched curiously as Renesmee let out a big yawn. "Oh do you need sleep? I can head down stairs if I'm disturbing your rest." She signaled for the door.

"Not at all, stay as long as you like." Renesmee smiled.

"Hmm, I envy you….you truly have the best of both worlds it seems."

"I suppose. Sometimes I wish I didn't need sleep. I think of all the things I could accomplish without it, and I always hate missing out on so much with my family."

"I see you're point. But at least it makes you more compatible with your Jacob. He must really appreciate that you have many human qualities."

"Yes, I think he does." Renesmee smiled thinking about him. The girls stayed up for a little longer chatting until eventually Renesmee could no longer keep her eyes open. She curled up on her bed and closed her eyes.

Once she drifted off, Tara curiously watched her eyelids flutter as she fell into a deep dream state. She couldn't remember what it was like to dream any more. Tara wondered if she would be able to see Renesmee's dreams while she slept and curiously reached over and touched her hand. Suddenly she saw vivid images of her family, randomly changing from one to the next like a movie be played in her head. She saw Edward playing on the grand piano downstairs while Bella sat with him. Next she saw Jacob on the beach with friends, then vision switched to him running through the forest on a hunt with her. Tara felt a little embarrassed when she saw Jacob give Renesmee her first kiss. She was pretty sure that part was only dream. She figured she must be looking forward to that moment. Tara worried about invading her privacy, and let go. Then she made herself comfortable in the corner with her book again over by the window. The rain finally let up and she could see into the forest. The bright moon crept out from the clouds and illuminated the sky. Its light bounced off the glistening leaves in the trees. She even heard more activity in the forest through the silence now as she listened. Something peculiar caught her attention though. It was like a magnetic force tugging on her. She desired to search for its source and considered hunting, thinking it just might be what she needed as the new smells seemed to be luring her in. She remembered Edward saying the hunting grounds in Forks are much better for vampires of their kind and that they were filled with a different variety of game.

Tara thought about the times she tried animal blood when she needed to feed. It was the only thing that kept her from hunting the humans at times, but she never preferred it. She found their taste rather bland compared to human blood. She knew she had to keep herself properly fed so she wouldn't give in to hunting humans however. Her horrible memory of the deaths of hundreds of human victims in her mind helped deterred her from wanting to kill ever again.

She leaped out of the upper window and sprang into the forest, eager to explore the new hunting ground. Tara was used to seeing many deer and moose in New England and an ample amount of coyotes as well. They reminded her too much of dogs however. She detested the taste of domesticated animals. She preferred to feed on a cow over a cat or a dog any day but none were really quite pleasing to her. It was something she would need to get used to.

"_Mountain lion,"_ she thought. That's what Bella and Edward mentioned. They're carnivorous and more satisfying, they explained. That's what she decided to hunt.

After covering several miles of land she became unsure of what direction to take so she followed a stream. Something kept luring her in a certain direction, so she followed her instincts. She hesitated when she passed several large deer and some elk, contemplating simply snatching one of them and then calling it a night. She deeply inhaled the scent of their blood.

"_Mmm, they're much bigger than_ _white tail that's for sure." _she thought but then changed her mind. "_Nah, probably tastes just like Bambi too. Stick to mountain lions." _she reminded herself.

Setting out on her mission, Tara ventured further west, smelling the air and absorbing her new surroundings. So many new and different aromas teased her palette as she allowed herself to drift with the smells and listened for movement. A crunching sound came from the bustle of hooves that echoed through the forest but it was muffled by the sudden sound of rain as the droplets began hitting the canopy of leaves above. The moist beads of fluid began to fall through the trees onto on her face. "_Drat!_ _It's starting to rain again."_

She knew she needed to move quickly now before all her prospective game took refuge. Knowing cats hate water she worried she might have to turn back and pick off one of the elk before it was too late.

Just before giving up, the wind changed and a new scent hit her nose. It was a rich scent, sharper and more appealing. She detected the sound of the muted padding of large feet that came from above. She looked up at a spruce, about ten feet in front of her and spotted the tawny hide of an enormous feline. The animal sat perched on branch above, sporadically twitching its tail as it was preparing to leap down. "_Mmm, hell-o,"_ she thought while staring at the giant cat. "_You're a big kitty, aren't you…." _She started feeling playful now. It had been many years since she hunted anything living.

Suddenly the rain picked up and she knew she would lose her meal if she didn't act quickly so she crouched down slightly and prepared to leap at the animal. Though she could easily sneak up on her target undetected, she enjoyed the hunt and the smell of fear that emitted from her prey. So with a light bound she sailed through the air and landed just a few feet from the tree with the cat still in her sights. Her thoughts were so completely focused on her prey she barely noticed the other smell that started to wrinkled her nose. It was a familiar scent…a _gamy _scent.

Though she stopped moving momentarily, the cat quickly stood and arched its back, hissing at something that seemed to threaten it. Then a deep low growl came from feline. Something seemed odd though. Its eyes didn't meet hers. It was looking at something else; something behind her. She heard another growl but this time it was much deeper, fiercer like a grizzly. She quickly spun around looking into the deep black pit of the forest seeing creature that frightened the cat. A huge black shape eased out of trees like a silent shadow. It's long muzzle revealed a line of dagger-like teeth as it snarled at her. Tara's eye widened as the fear shot though her like a bolt of lightning.

"_What? No! I thought they were friends_?" She shouted in her mind. When the enormous silvery wolf started to lunge, Tara leaped in the air and the he clipped her shoulder, knocking her to the ground. The huge animal turned again to attack and she immediately cloaked herself, confusing it just before it came at her. Just then, she heard another snarl and a large sandy-colored wolf barreled into the other one in mid-air knocking him into the trees. Tara watched in hiding as they fought, snapping and tearing at each other. Their angry growls echoed through the trees like thunder. The lighter one had the other upper hand, pinning the other one to the ground.

Without waiting another second she took off running as fast as she could back to the Cullen house, not looking back even once. She quickly tracked her way back through the forest, and when she reached the Cullen's home she leaped back up through the same upper window she jumped out of. Then she blasted though Renesmee's door and hurdled herself over the stair rail jumping straight down to the first floor.

As she dashed through the living room past Jasper and Alice who were both engaged in a quiet board game, he sensed an emotion of fear in her. She ran through the house till she found Esme in her sewing room and rushed into her arms. Esme held her like a mother cradling a frighten child who had just woke up from a nightmare. "What is it? What's wrong Tara?" Esme asked in a soothing voice while she stroked her head.

Tara squeezed her arms around Esme tightly, keeping her eyes closed. "I thought they were friends!"

"Who Tara?"

"The wolves!" she squeaked. "_Why did I even come here?"_she thought.

The others curiously ran into the room to see what the commotion was about, including Renesmee who woke up once Tara came barreling through her room. She rushed to Tara's side and put her hand on her shoulder when she saw how scared she looked.

"What happened?" she asked, worried for her friend, but Tara didn't speak.

Carlisle texted Edward a message knowing something was extremely wrong and he and Bella rushed over within seconds. As soon as they entered, Edward saw the whole thing from Tara's mind. "You went _hunting_?" he groaned.

"I'm sorry. I thought it was allowed." She frowned feeling horribly guilty. She had no idea what she did wrong however.

Edward rubbed his temples realizing he forgot to mention the rules to her. He turned to the others to explain what happened. "She crossed the border onto Quileute territory. Paul spotted her and attacked He didn't know who she was. I don't think he would have tried to harm her had he known better."

Carlisle sighed. "Well… we should be expecting them soon. Let's hope they'll be forgiving."

"They're already here," Edward said as heard Sam and Jacob's thoughts. Edward opened the door to faced Jacob, Sam, Paul and Seth as they approached the house, all in human form. What was left of the scratches and cuts on Paul and Seth's bodies already started to heal.

Edward let the four men in. Jacob and Sam lead and Paul and Seth followed behind. Seth's eyes caught a glimpse of Tara huddled in Esme's arms. He wondered if she was okay but quickly diverted his eyes away before anyone noticed.

Jacob spoke up first. "So, you're new vampire crossed our borders. She was caught hunting on our land."

"I apologize. It's entirely my fault for not explaining the boundary lines to her. I had no idea she would get the urge to hunt animals tonight. She clearly displayed a dislike for them earlier so I thought we'd have to break her in first. Bella and I intended on taking her ourselves to show her."

"Well, it looks like she had plans of her own," Jacob replied.

"I assure you, Jake. She meant no harm to anyone. Look at her. She's more frightened of you than you are of her."

Jacob glanced over at Tara still huddled in Esme's arms. He grinned with satisfaction.

Edward was in Paul's head's trying to get another view on what happened. Seth's mind however, was cluttered with thoughts of meaningless ramblings. Edward identified this tactic right away. It was one his sister's used on him frequently to keep him out. He immediately suspected him of hiding something.

"Yeah well you know the rules _Eddy_. She's not allowed on our territory." Jacob reminded him. Edward rolled his eyes and let out a low grumble when he called him that.

"We don't know that the girl won't hurt anyone. She can't be trusted. Look at her eyes." Sam added.

"She's more like us than you give her credit for. She survived on human blood but only from hospital. She won't kill. You'll just have to trust my instincts on this one. I would not bring her here if I thought she was a threat." Edward informed them.

"Sam…" Renesmee interrupted.

He looked down at her. "Yes Renesmee?"

"May I show you something?"

He nodded and then she touched his face and concentrated, sharing a series of memories from earlier.

"You see, I trust her and so does my family. You know that none of us pose a threat to any of you so why are you holding onto these treaty rules? Besides, you already give me free rein on your land. I don't see why you shouldn't extend the same privileges to the rest of my family."

"Ness, you know why you're allowed at La Push, it's an entirely different matter," Jacob said.

"Yes, you're half human," Sam added.

"And I'm half vampire too," Renesmee pointed out. "I also hunt and feed just as my family does and if you remember, I preferred human blood over animal blood for the longest time. Don't think those cravings will ever go away. I've just learned to control them, just as Tara has. I think it's time to change this treaty. Are we not Allies?"

"We are… but the girl…she's not one of you." Sam questioned her status.

"Yes…she _is_ one of us. You either accept us all, or none. I don't wish to be divided in my own family."

Tara suddenly turned when she heard Renesmee defending her. She stood and approached Edward and Carlisle. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you had rules… or boundaries," she said to Sam

Carlisle put his hand on her shoulder. "I know. We should have told you. I wasn't worried about you harming anyone though. I'm just glad you didn't get hurt." She nodded.

Then Carlisle turned to Seth. "Thank you for preventing a possible tragedy. I know Paul was only doing his duty. I'm glad you stopped him though, allowing us to explain," he continued.

Seth's eyes panned up to Carlisle's. "Um, no problem," he shrugged. Tara stared at the boy's face. He looked preoccupied with something else at the moment and looked away. His actions confused her. He saved her for some odd reason but he didn't seem to want anything to do with her.

Jacob folded his arms. "Guess we can just treat this as a misunderstanding for now…but as I said before, we'll be watching you."

Tara had just about enough of Jacob's attitude. "Well gosh Jacob… thanks so much for the warm welcome," she said with sarcasm.

Suddenly Seth let out snicker and grinned but he quickly caught himself. When he lifted his eyes and realized Tara was staring right at him his mouth flattened to a straight line again. Then he glanced over at Jacob and got a disapproving stare from him.

Renesmee broke his concentration when she kissed his cheek. "Thank you Jake." He touched her face and smiled.

"So you'll rescind the treaty and allow my family on the land?" she batted her big brown eyes at him.

Jacob looked at Sam for his thoughts on the matter.

"After all we've been through together I don't see why we should continue with the old law. I'm not so sure all our boys…or Leah, would feel comfortable with the idea of you hunting near their families however," he said.

"Thank you Sam. I wouldn't want to worry anyone. We'll gladly refrain from hunting there still but we appreciate you extending us an invitation. None of us will abuse it," Carlisle said.

Jacob nodded. "Sounds good." Then shook Carlisle hand as he held it out to him.

"And you promise you'll be nice?" Renesmee added.

"Ok, don't push it." He held up a finger.

"Tsk! Jake!" she said as she grabbed at it playfully.

"Aw, don't ask too much of him Ness, he has an image to maintain," Bella teased.

Edward let out a chuckle.

Jacob just shrugged and gave her a cocky grin. They all seemed to loosen up a bit now that more serious matters were settled. Seth was the only one who still remained quiet and withdrawn though

Before they all left, Renesmee gave each of them a giant hug saving Jacob for last but when she hugged Seth he seemed ridged. Renesmee looked at his face and smiled hoping she could break his unusually repressed mood. Seth smiled at her and kissed her forehead. He loved her like she was a little sister and she cared for him just as much. Renesmee remembered Seth since the womb when he spent hours next to Bella keeping her warm. Though Renesmee loves all the wolves of the pack, she held a special place in her heart for Seth.

Once the four of them were finally gone, Renesmee gave Tara a hug too. It startled her when she wrapped her arms around Tara and at first, she stood motionless unsure of how to react but then when Renesmee told her she was glad she was that she didn't get hurt, Tara warmed up and put her arm around her too.

"You defended me. Thank you Ness."

"Of course, I defended all of my family." She released her and smiled.

"Family?" Tara realized she'd just been included in the equation. "But you hardly know me and I almost destroyed your loyalties with the pack."

"You're my friend and you did nothing wrong. You didn't know about the treaty or the border lines. Besides, it was time for this to be put to an end. No one has ever put it to the test until now because no one besides me has ever wanted to go there. There wasn't a reason to contest it, until now."

"I'm glad they didn't give you a hard time because of me. I hope I'm not more trouble than I'm worth."

Carlisle patted her shoulder. "Nonsense, Tara. It's always precarious introducing a new family member into the home. There are always adjustments to be made."

"I can stay? You would accept me?"

"Of course. You're welcome to stay here. We'd love to have you if that's what you wish," he said.

Tara looked at all of them and smiled and they smiled back. Esme gave her one of her motherly hugs.

Carlisle decided he should take care of Tara's feeding needs quickly and then plan for a hunting trip later for the family. As he headed for his supplies Edward followed to discuss some things he discovered about Tara.

"The girl seems to have held onto a lot of memories that most of us would have forgotten. Jazz also thinks she's quite emotional. It's unusual," Edward said.

"Yes, it's possible since she was turned at such a young age. I mean, a sixteen year old girl, probably going through hormonal changes in her life and then the emotional trauma she went though when her family was murdered right in front of her….it makes sense. Anything's possible it seems. Her gift is truly amazing. I'm surprised the Volturi let her leave," Carlisle said.

"I don't think they did." Tara guarded that memory very well from him.

"We'll don't worry, about the girls tonight. I have it all taken care of. You and Bella can head back home," Carlisle said.

Once they tucked in Renesmee and said their goodbyes, Carlisle brought two units of blood to Tara. "I thought perhaps you would need this tonight."

Tara took one of the bags and flopped it back and forth, examining it. "Did you stop at the hospital for me?" she grinned.

"Not quite. I've learned to stock animal blood for emergencies."

"Uh…oh. Well…what… kind?" she stared at the bag with s grimace.

"Mostly farm animals. They're easily accessible online. Sorry, I know it's nothing exciting but it should make you feel better."

"Mmmm." She forced a smile. "Yummy."

Carlisle chuckled. "Don't worry, you'll get your chance to hunt soon. We need to be sure we stay clear from humans when we hunt as well. It happens to be hunting season right now so they will be in certain areas this time of year. It's best to avoid the temptation."

"Of course."

Carlisle patted her shoulder and smiled. Then he started to turn to leave.

"Hey, um…thanks Carlisle. Thank you for everything you and your family have done for me. I've never had a real family since….." Tara couldn't finish her sentence and just trailed off.

"I know. That's why we're here for you."

**The next day…**

Jacob began making the repairs on Alice's Porsche. Edward had brought it over to have him buff out all the scratches and dents and then change the entire color to a new fiery-red as promised.

_Jacob and Seth worked together as co-owners of their own auto body shop, located in the middle of the small town of Forks. After Jacob graduated from high school, he started a small business for himself fixing up cars out of Billy's garage. By word-of-mouth, he'd built himself a large list of clientele doing small jobs such as oil changes and tune-ups and an occasional body repair. He used the income to work on his degree in automotive technology at community college in Port Angeles. Seth, who also majored in shop in high school, took an interest in Jacob's business and began helping him part time after school and on weekends. After Seth's eighteenth birthday, Jacob proposed to him the idea to open a shop of their own. Seth used some of the college money his father left him as a down payment on the property and they became equal partners in their business. He used the rest of his money for schooling as it was intended_.

That morning, Seth walked through the door of the garage, arriving late to start his day at work. He shoved something in his pocket and grabbed the dirty, gray jumpsuit off the hook on the wall. A large oil stain from a job they did the day before covered his name patch. Seth took a whiff of the suit before he put it on determining it definitely smelled ready for the washing machine.

"Bout time! I'm almost done buffing the scratches out," Jacob snorted.

"Sorry….I slept in a little." Seth yawned while leaning against Jacob's tool bench.

"A little? It's noon buddy. Try sleeping at _night_."

"I slept… some," he said while rubbing his bloodshot eyes.

"So, did you calm Leah down after she found out?" Jacob asked.

"No, she's still freaked out. She wants me to stay away from her."

"And, I take it you're not going to listen to her advice."

"Of course not. How can I? I've been going out of my mind. Leah will just have to deal with it. She's just being overprotective of me."

"Yeah well I have my own concerns for you, ya know."

"Why?" Seth pulled the shiny object back out of his pocket and held it in his hand, looking at it.

"I may be the only one that can really understand what you are going through, but I think this is really dangerous for you. This could all go very badly."

"I just need some time. Maybe if I get to know her… if we become friends first, she'll accept this…I hope."

"You _better_ hope."

"Jake…I don't know what else to do. How the heck do I tell a vampire I imprinted on her?"

Jacob shrugged. "You got me man….Ness was different. It was like she knew when she was born."

"Do you think she senses anything?" Seth wondered.

"Dunno…guess you'll find out though. Shouldn't you be a little worried she might rip your face off when you try and explain it to her?"

"Yeah, but I don't have a choice. I can barely sleep. It's all I think about. I need to try."  
"It's your life." He shrugged.

"Thanks for the support," he said sarcastically.

"Heh! I'm all ya got right now. Better suck up!"

Seth chuckled. Then he had a more serious thought. "You think there's something wrong with me Jake? I mean...how could this happen?"

"I'm not sure but if I can imprint on Ness, anything's possible I suppose. I think Billy's theory was right; we imprint to make us stronger. I don't think it has anything to do with breeding; it's just about finding your soul mate. Guess we're all destined for that one special person."

"What about Leah? She still hasn't been imprinted on."

He shrugged again. "Guess she just hasn't met the right guy then." Jacob had another curious thought. "So how do you plan on working out all the …you know…details?" He was referring to having an intimate relationship with her.

Seth shook his head. "I'm just gonna take one thing at a time. Guess we'll figure it out…if it even comes to that."

"Well what about you and Ness? Don't you have the same concerns about that?"

"Ness? I could never be afraid of her. Even though she's strong as an ox, she's as gentle as a mouse."

Jacob knew in his heart that Renesmee could never hurt him. "And besides that, Ness isn't even venomous."

Jacob recalled when Renesmee always like to bite him when she was an infant. The Cullens thought it was the funniest thing when she did.

"Well, just make sure you don't ever make her mad then. That girl has quite a temper on her!" Seth warned.

"Yeah, I'll never forget the time she chased you down and busted your arm when you stuck those fake vampire teeth in her mouth while she was sleeping. Man that was a great prank though. Hey, you still got those pictures?" Jacob laughed.

Seth chuckled. "Heck yeah, I even made printed copies!" They both laughed as they high-fived each other.

"So what about the _mind-reader_ - you think he's figured it out?" Jacob wondered.

"I don't think so. Hopefully I have him convinced I'm really into stupid vampire shows. I just watched Vampire Diaries the other day so I kept running the episodes through my mind over and over – just really stupid stuff. I'm pretty sure he just totally tuned me out."

"Heh! Yeah, good way to keep him out of your head!" Jake wiped his hands on his jumpsuit and grabbed the hood. "Ok, well let's start getting these dents out," he added.

"So where's Ness today?" Seth asked.

"She's hunting with Bella and Tara. Girl-time I guess…I wasn't invited. Neither was Eddy. He mentioned it when he dropped off the car."

"Hmm, well in that case I think I'll take a trip over tomorrow since we're closed or do you plan on working on the Porsche again?"

"Nope, I promised Ness I'd spend the day with her, maybe some cliff diving if it's nice like they're predicting. I'll let you know so you can meet us."

"Cool. Thanks."

"So have Charlie and Sue set a date yet?" Jacob asked, changing the subject.

"I think so. Mom's been all secretive lately…I have the feeling they're going to make an announcement soon."

"That's cool, I'm really happy for her, Billy is too. Charlie's a great guy."

"Yeah, he is. He's been good to her. I'm glad to see her so happy."

_After Bella left home to marry Edward, Sue began taking care of Charlie, cooking him meals, and helping him around the house. It didn't take long for the two to hit it off and eventually start dating. Seth knew it also wouldn't be long before the couple became serious, especially when she started spending the evenings with him. Seth became very fond of Charlie. Though Charlie loved Bella with all his heart, he had a strong fondness for Seth. He'd regretted never trying for a son when he was married to Renee. Deep down he always wanted to have a boy he could take to baseball games, go fishing and hunting, all of which Bella was much too uncoordinated to handle. He accepted Seth like he was his own and they bonded quickly. Seth never once felt any animosity towards Charlie or Sue even though their relationship took off so quickly after his father's passing. He was just happy to see his mother smiling again._

"I just don't know how I'm gonna break the news to mom yet," Seth continued.

"Yeah well I don't think she's the one you need to worry about just yet."

Seth gave him a grim look. "I know."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Friendship**

Tara sifted through Carlisle's library during the early hours of the morning, looking for something to read. She found one of her favorite classics, The Count of Monte Cristo then curled up on a couch in the den to quietly enjoy her book. Before she could finish the first chapter however, Alice appeared out of nowhere greeting Tara as she strolled in the room. "Good morning!" she said with a suspiciously, cheerful grin on her face.

"Hey Alice," she replied as she looked up and smiled, she then returned her attention back to her book.

Tara had no idea that she was about be drafted for a makeover. Alice could no longer stand to see the girl go another day in the same outfit. It also bothered her that the girl's long stringy hair hung in her face. She described her to Edward as looking quite "_homeles_s". In Tara's defense however, Edward reminded her that up until now, the girl _was_ in fact homeless. She felt the girl was simply just a rare gem that just needed a little polishing and she decided it would be her mission to improve on the her appearance.

When Tara realized Alice was still standing there, her eyes slowly panned up from her book. The tiny vampire stood in front of her holding dress in one hand and had a very large grin on her face. "Are you busy? I thought we'd have some girl time. You can always read that later can't you?" Alice suggested.

Tara took a good look at the dress in Alice's hand. "Um...are we going somewhere?"

"Nope, I just thought…or well, I hoped, you'd let me give you a little makeover. Bella and Renesmee let me do it all the time and they love it." Or so she believed.

"Oh, well… I don't really do dresses," she said politely while staring at the frilly item, covered in pink and white lace. "_I wouldn't be caught dead in that thing,"_ Tara thought.

"No problem, I've got lots of stuff that will fit you. Come on, be a sport, it'll be fun! I can do so much with your hair. It will look very fashionable, I promise. I found the perfect style for you." She held up a copy of _Elle _with a photo of Katy Perry on the front.

Tara's eyes widened. "You wanna give me a hair cut too?"

"Yes, you're in dire need of one - no offense." Alice ran her fingers through Tara's hair, checking for split ends.

"Why? What's wrong with my hair?"

"It just needs a little attention. Don't worry, I've done this before. You'll look adorable when I'm done with you. Pretty please?" Alice gave her a pair of sad eyes as she begged.

Tara remembered Bella mentioning that Alice loved fashion and had even been to beauty school recently. She didn't want to hurt her feelings so she agreed.

Alice grabbed Tara's hand and practically dragged her into the bathroom, which looked like she'd turned it into a mini salon.

"Uh, makeup too?" Tara really didn't like makeup.

"Just a tiny bit, I promise."

Tara reluctantly sat down to let Alice go to work. She washed Tara's hair in the sink, dried it and combed it through, getting all the snarls out. Then she cut it exactly like the picture. Her hands worked very fast. Once she finished blow drying and styling it, she worked on Tara's face, sticking to her promise not to overdo it with the cosmetics.

As the transformation process began, Alice rambled on about her life speaking of her love for Jasper, and how they found each other. She also mentioned how she spent years locked in an asylum and how she thinks she chopped off her hair while she was there. Tara took notice to Alice's wild, spiky hair-do. Though the edges were choppy and uneven, she thought she managed to make it work well.

When it was finished, Tara looked at herself in the mirror. She almost didn't recognize herself, especially since her eye color started changing now. They were no longer the intense burgundy she'd always known.

The makeover wasn't the worst thing she'd experienced she thought but not something she could see herself doing daily. She liked the simpler, much shorter hair style, stopping at her shoulders and cut off evenly all the way around.

"Well…what do you think?" Alice asked.

"I think I look almost… _human._"

Alice laughed.

**After the sun had come up…..**

Seth headed to the Cullen's late in the morning. He drove the old bike Jacob had put together for Bella when Edward was absent from her life. Jacob had decided to give it to him as a birthday present when he turned sixteen just two years ago. Seth happily accepted it and got his license so he could ride it legally. It was currently his only form of transportation but he loved his bike.

In the past three years, his bond with Jacob became almost inseparable. Seth frequently accompanied Jacob to the Cullen's home when he came to see Renesmee. He'd always been much more accepting of the Cullens than most of the wolves, developing a friendship with them that the rest of the pack considered unusual. The Cullens also considered him just as much of a member of the family as their own, especially Edward and Bella who felt very grateful for everything he did for them. This time however, Seth had a new reason for visiting the Cullen house. When Esme answered the door, he greeted her with a compliment. "Hey, Mrs. C. You look lovely today." He smiled. He simply adored Esme and she also cared for him and Jacob like they were one of her own.

"Why thank you, Seth." She smiled back. "Is everything ok? You really worried me the other night, when you ran off without even eating."

"Oh yeah…sorry, I just had some business to tend to. Nothing personal."

"Well I'm glad to hear that." She smiled. "Jacob and Nessie aren't here, though. You just missed them."

"Oh, that's okay. I was hoping I'd catch your house guest here. Is she in?"

"Yes, Tara's up in Nessie's room right now. Is there a problem?" she worried.

"Oh no. I just have something for her. A peace offering, you could say. Do you mind if I go talk to her?" he asked politely.

Esme opened the door wider to let him in. "Not at all. Come in," she smiled warmly.

"Thanks." He slipped in and dashed up the stairs, heading down the hall to the last room. As he got closer he heard a voice. Someone was singing and it came from Renesmee's room. He picked up Tara's scent and then quietly as he could he peeked in, pushing on the door slightly. Tara stood facing the back wall with her iPod on and ear-buds in both ears. She sang loudly while air-guitaring to her favorite rock music. He stood by the door, silently watching, amused at the vision. It didn't take her long at all to notice the familiar smell of wolf and stopped cold, turning around slowly to see who was there. Seth's presence startled her and she disappeared immediately.

He became nervous, putting his hands up as a peaceable gesture. "Hey, easy - no need to be scared. I'm the one who _saved_ you remember?" Before he could blink, she had already zipped across the room and stood in front of him. It took him by surprise when she reappeared and he stumbled back a few inches. When she closed in on him, her head only came up to his chest but she stood up on her toes leaning in close. Seth froze as she stared him down.

She put her face up to his chest and inhaled. "Hmm, yes it _was_ you then, the other one smelled _much_ worse." Still only an inch away from his body, she stared up at him as he towered over her. "And, I'm _not_ scared…_wolf_." Her eyes narrowed. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Uh…not even a minute really."

"Well, don't you know how to knock?" she frowned.

"S-sorry. I was about to," he paused changing the subject. "Um, sooo… we're you just, _air-guitaring _over there?" he grinned.

She looked embarrassed by the question. His unusual stare made her suspicious but she noticed something else; she detected no fear of in him, no scent of it at all. His heart beat steady and calm as well. She took a step back and turned on her heels to walk back to the bed, ignoring his question.

While she bent over to pick up her sketch book off of the floor, Seth gripped the front of his T-shirt, pulled it to his nose and sniffed. He wondered how bad he smelled to her. Then Tara sat down on the bed and started working on a drawing she started earlier, before being taken away by her music.

"So, what do you want then, a personal apology? I have no intentions to hunt on your land again if that's what you came to check on," she said, not even looking up from the paper. Her hand moved very fast as she drew.

He watched her intently. "Uh no, that's not why I'm here, though a _thank you_ would be nice."

Her hand stopped moving and she slowly lifted her eyes from the paper. "Um..._thanks_," she said without showing a trace of emotion though she was thoroughly confused now, wondering why he was there.

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment. "Uh, right." His eyebrows scrunched up as he spoke. "So, anyway, I have something for you…." He paused for a moment before entering. "Um, can I come in?" he asked politely.

She nodded and then watched him carefully as he stepped closer to her. Her eyes widened with curiosity as he fearlessly sat on the bed next to her. She remained perfectly still, bemused, wondering what he was up to. Seth reached into his pocket and took something out. He stretched his arm out to her and opened his fist exposing the gold necklace in his hand.

"My locket!" she gasped. Her fingers brushed his hot skin as she took it from him. She quickly pulled her hand back with a surprised look and stared at him for a moment, bewildered.

He smiled at her, hoping she was pleased. She looked down at the locket in her hand, staring at it for a moment almost in disbelief, thinking it was lost it forever.

Seth decided to break the awkward silence. "The clasp was busted, so I had to make a repair. I gave it a new one but it almost matches perfe….." Before he finished his sentence though, Tara leaped across the bed and hugged him tightly. It startled him but she was so quick he had no time to react.

"Um…Wow. Okay…," he said, gasping for air as she nearly crushed him with her embrace. Her reaction took him by surprise.

Tara gasped as she felt the heat from Seth's body, noticing it was much warmer than normal skin temperature. She quickly let go of Seth and shifted back further on the bed lowering her eyes and feeling embarrassed for doing that. "Ah…excuse me. I-I don't know what came over me."

"No worries," he chuckled as he rubbed his chest. It stung from the impact of her body slamming into him. "At least I know you're happy," he added. It was a better reaction than he expected from a vampire.

Tara became overwhelmed with emotion. Her most precious treasure had been returned by a stranger - but not just a stranger, a vampire killing machine and he'd come to give her the only valuable possession she owned. "I don't understand." She gave him a suspiciously glare.

"What's that?"

"How you found this and… why you brought it to me."

"Um, well I noticed you didn't have it around your neck the other night and I thought maybe it had fallen off when Paul hit you. It was quite an ordeal looking for such a tiny little thing. It landed in a pile of leaves. Good thing your scent was all over it still. I thought the rain would wash it away."

"You actually went looking for it? Why would you _do_ that?"

He shrugged. "Because… I just thought it might be something important to you." He watched her expression. She still seemed baffled. "And maybe I'm just a nice guy," he added with a big grin.

"Well, I guess I just don't understand why you would be so nice. I mean you wouldn't even look at me the other night and the rest of the pack doesn't seem to like me much, so it just seems odd to me."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come off as rude and the pack…well, they're just doing their job is all."

"Isn't that your job too?" Why did you stop your friend from attacking me?

"Yeah but I didn't sense that you're a threat and I didn't want Paul to hurt you. I mean, you were only trying to hunt that big mountain lion. You obviously didn't know about the boundaries. I can't blame you," he shrugged.

She gave him an odd stare. "How did you know I was hunting a mountain lion?"

"Um… well cuz I saw it." He lied. Then he changed the subject quickly. "I have a lot of confidence in Edward and Bella. They seem to trust you so that's good enough for me."

"Oh."

She stared into his big brown eyes, believing him for some strange reason. His stare made her nervous so she casually looked down at the locket, rubbing her thumb over the initials on the front. He noticed her staring at the locket and wanted to ask her something that he was curious about. "So can I ask you something?"

She figured she owed him that much at least and nodded.

"Well, don't get mad but… I looked inside and I wondered… who are the people in the pictures?" He took the liberty of looking inside when he found it. "The woman looks very much like you," he added.

Her expression changed to a frown when he asked about the pictures of the man and the woman on either side of her locket. He worried that maybe he shouldn't have invaded her privacy. "It's okay. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Tara kept looking at the locket not speaking but then she decided to answer his question. "My parents…." She looked up at his face to see his reaction. "Those were my parents." Her expression remained sullen.

"Oh." It was what he suspected. He noticed she used the past tense, guessing they were no longer alive. He also noticed something else about the photo as well. "So you're mother was Native American?"

Her eyes focused on him. "Yes."

Seth examined Tara's facial features, trying to imagine her with darker skin like his. It astonished him because he never before imagined one of his tribe being turned but it made him realize that it was a real possibility for them.

"Hmm, I guess I didn't really notice before. You're such a _pale-face_ now." He winked.

Tara gave him a disturbed look and he worried that the comment bothered her "Oh, I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."

She shook her head. "No, it's not that it's just… my mother used to call my dad that name, jokingly of course. It was kinda of her pet name for him."

"Well, I won't say that anymore if it bothers you."

"It doesn't. Don't worry about it. You just made me remember something I forgot for a long time is all."

"I take it they're both gone now?" he said, figuring they were probably no longer alive.

"_Long_ gone," Tara said in a low voice, looking down again.

"Hey, I know how much it hurts to lose a parent, I can't imagine losing both."

Tara's expression softened. "My locket is the only thing I have left of them. Thank you for finding it for me…_Seth Clearwater_." Her eyes met his with sincerity.

It was the first time she'd said his name and he liked it. "You're welcome, and it's just Seth. I'm flattered you even remembered," he smiled.

"Well, I happen to remember _everything,_" she said smugly as she unclasped the chain and put it around her neck.

"Looks good as new," he said smiling at her.

Seth's eyes warmed her mood. She wondered how old he was, looking at his boyish face. Based on his size and frame, she guessed he was about twenty in human years. As she found herself getting lost in his stare. Seth became a bit nervous when there was a silent lull so he tried to think of something a little more cheerful to talk about. He spotted her ipod on the bed.

"So what were you listening to there before I came in?" he said as he pointed at the tiny gadget. "Do you mind if I have a look?"

She stared at his open palm and then lifted her eyes to his. He seemed nice enough that she could trust him so she handed the tiny device over, purposefully placing one hand under his and slowly dropping the iPod in his palm with the other hand. Her fingertips tingled as she touched his heated skin.

"Thanks," he responded warmly. Then he browsed through the music list. "Hmm let's see…. Elvis eh?" He made his lip curl up like The King and she chuckled shaking her head. "Mmm, I like the Beatles too," he said but as he scrolled through a few more, he didn't recognize most of them. "Uh...Chuck Berry and the Platters?" He scrunched his face.

"Yes, I like oldies. They're all more from _my_ time."

"So how did you get your hands on one of these anyways? I know they're not cheap and I heard you lived alone at a school."

"Oh… well, let's just say it's kinda handy when you can go completely undetected at times."

"Ah, so you _stole_ it?" His right eyebrow popped up as he gave her a sly grin. "My-my, such a little thief, I bet some poor student is probably searching the lost and found right now, hoping some kind soul will return it to him," he teased.

"_No_, actually it's more like some poor employee at _Best Buy_ is stressing over his inventory."

"Oooh, now that's a misdemeanor," he tried to say with a straight face, "Maybe I _should _keep my eye on you, maybe you _are _trouble." He teased.

"Tsk! Whatever!" she clucked, reaching over to grab her iPod from him.

He just moved away from her and turned his head looking her in the eye. "Ah-ah…hold on, I'm not done!"

She grabbed at his hand to take it but he playfully switched it to his other one. She became inpatient with him and leaped on top of him gripping the hand that held the iPod tightly.

He realized she was much too strong to fight back. "Um…ow. That hurts a little," he said as she squeezed his wrist.

She leaned into his face. Her breath was as cool as her icy skin when she spoke. "You really shouldn't tease a vampire. It's a very dangerous thing to do," she hissed.

Seth trembled under her realizing he'd pushed her too far. "I-I'll try to remember that." He stared closely at her eyes and then realized what was different about her. Her eyes were blood red the last time he saw her. They'd darkened to an almost brownish color now.

She cocked her head to the side, staring at him. Then she smirked and pried the iPod from his hand. "Don't worry Seth, I won't hurt you." She backed off letting him up.

He exhaled rubbing his wrists. "Who's worried?"

"You know, stealing is hardly the _worst _thing I've ever done… or _could_ do, for that matter." She said trying to intimidate him.

He realized what she meant by her comment. "I'm sure I know what you're capable of, however I don't see you as a monster like you might think."

Tara's eyes narrowed again. "Is that so? What _do_ you see me as then?"

"Mmm, how about a friend?" he suggested, hoping she'd accept.

"You're asking to be my friend?" she looked puzzled.

"Well yeah, I figured, since you owe me and all," Seth raised an eyebrow.

"I don't understand. Why would you want to be friends with me?"

"Um…well I guess if you're not interested…" he sounded disappointed.

"That's not what I said," she snapped.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Do I need more of reason? Look, the Cullens are my friends so I thought we could be as well…. if you want."

She stared at him silently for a moment, confused by his actions. She couldn't figure out why he behaved so peculiar. The unusual stare and silence made Seth start to feel as though he wasn't really wanted there. "If you just want me to leave, I can just take off. I'm sorry if I'm bothering you," he said sourly and started to get up and walk away. She didn't want him to leave though.

"Seth - _wait_!" she ordered. He turned back to towards her."I suppose I shouldn't turn you down…. since I owe you for finding my locket."

"And _saving_ you," he added.

"Stay," she requested. He thought for a second and then walked back over to the bed, standing there nervously.

"Sit," she ordered. "I promise I won't bite." She smirked, keeping her eyes on him as he sat back on the bed next to her and slowly turned his eyes her face.

"I'm very curious about you. You're my first human..._friend_." She felt odd calling him that. "I never actually _speak_ to humans."

"Why not?" he asked.

She leaned a little closer to him. "Do you ever talk to you food?" She looked in his eyes to see his reaction. He shook his head nervously.

She grinned while looking him over. "Though…you're not _entirely_ human either," she pointed out.

Seth shook his head staring at her face. "No, I'm not."

"You smell _different_ from humans, also."

"You mean I smell _bad._" He remembered her words from earlier.

"You should be thankful… I normally wouldn't tolerate being this close to a human without considering them for a meal."

Seth gulped and his eyebrows scrunched together.

"Also…I noticed your heartbeat is much calmer today," she added. "Well...at least it was up until a few seconds ago." She grinned pleased with herself.

"Huh?" He tensed up.

"The first night you were here, you're heart was racing like the wings of a humming bird. Do I make you nervous?" she wondered.

"Uh no, not really." He lied. "How do you even know it was me anyways?"

"Because when you disappeared, the room quieted down. I knew it was you then."

"Oh ..yeah, um…I wasn't feeling well. I just needed some air." He looked away feeling awkward about it.

"I got the impression you didn't want to be around me. I thought maybe I spooked you or something."

He chuckled. "Um, no offense, but I've actually been around scarier vampires than _you._"

Her eye brow went up. "Is that so - and who might that be?" she mused.

"The Volturi."

Tara snickered. "Mmm, the Volturi,…yes…they _are_ a scary bunch." She spoke in a mocking tone since she used to be one. He obviously didn't know that however. "You're all lucky to still be alive. When the Volturi show up at your door like that, you don't usually live to tell about it."

"Yeah well I think they were more scared of us. They may be very powerful but I don't think they were ready to face a pack of angry wolves that were teamed up with some very gifted vampires."

"Maybe so. Aro's not one to get into a battle, he'll avoid it if possible. He likes an easy kill, one where he has the advantage. That's why he likes to collect vampires with talents that serve his purpose," she explained.

"You seem to know a lot about them."

The corners of Tara's mouth turned down. "Let's just say I've encountered them more than I'd like to." She said realizing he didn't know much about her past.

"Same here," Seth agreed.

An awkward silence came over the room again. Tara found herself curiously fascinated by Seth's presence and his unusual kindness towards her. She also still wondered about his unusually warm body heat. She never remembered humans being quite that hot. They were warm to the touch but Seth's skin was like a blazing fire against hers. She inquisitively reached for his hand to touch his skin. He almost jerked it away but waited, trusting her to see what she was about to do. Her fingertips gently skimmed over the top of his hand, making the hairs on his arm stand strait up. "Forgive my curiosity but… are all of your kind so warm?"

Her cool touch gave him goose bumps. "Yes…we're always like that. It's a wolf thing."

"Is that uncomfortable for you?" She turned his hand over studying his palm.

He started to relax, enjoying her inquisitiveness. "It was at first it was, but not anymore. How about you - are you uncomfortable being so cold?"

She pulled her hand away quickly at the mention of her coldness. "Uh, well no…I'm _dead_. Cold feels normal to me."

"Hmm… well last I checked, dead people don't talk, or sing or air-guitar," he smirked.

Tara reached for his hand and pressed it to her chest, placing it over her dead heart and holding it there. "What do you _feel_?" She spoke with a soft and soothing voice.

"Umm…" he paused becoming nervous and speechless.

"No heartbeat?" Her eyebrow rose.

"Uh, no," he spoke softly.

"That's because I'm not alive." She watched his expression, expecting him to become withdrawn but he didn't.

"Well that's only because certain parts of your body that have ceased to function, but you're obviously alive. Your soul is still there, right? Otherwise I wouldn't be talking to you right now. So my theory is …you're just something _different_."

She let go of his hand but he didn't move his. His receptiveness made her apprehensive. It was something she was not used to with humans. "You're very interesting." Her eyes narrowed.

"Really? Is that good or bad?" he asked as he pulled is hand away slowly.

"I'll let you know."

Seth smiled at her, hoping she would. "So then, what are your plans while you're here in Forks?" he pried.

Tara shrugged. "I have no plans really. I've been a little reluctant to venture off by myself since…well… you know. And since Renesmee went to the Reservation with Jacob for a few hours and Edward and Bella won't be back for couple hours… I guess I just plan to hang here for a bit at least until they return. Bella promised to show me around Forks though. I'm kinda looking forward to getting out."

"Oh… I see." he nervously looked down at the bed. "Uh, well …do you like motorcycles?"

"Sure." Tara wondered why he would ask such a question.

"Great, then… how about if I show you around Forks? If you'd like…." He looked to see her reaction.

Tara stared at him not saying anything, boggled by his amity towards her.

"What? You still don't trust me?"

She looked at him skeptically. "I'm still trying to figure you out."

"Well you can figure me out while we're getting to know each other. So, how 'bout it?" When he held out his hand to her, she looked at it like it was an alien probe.

"Umm... I dunno…are we supposed to be doing that?" Tara never thought in a million years she would befriend a human, especially one that could mutate into a giant wolf. She felt like she was doing something completely illegal.

"Yes, it's fine. We're friends now. Come on - I think Edward has an extra helmet in the garage too. Esme won't mind if we get it."

She contemplated for a few seconds. She wasn't sure why, but she was very interested in taking a ride with her new acquaintance. "Alright then, but I won't need a helmet." She put her iPod down and slowly got up from the bed. "I _would_ like to change into something a little more suitable however… if you don't mind. Alice kinda got to me last night. She thinks I'm her new dress up doll or something."

Seth chuckled. "Oh I see. Yeah, I've heard that about Alice from Ness. You look really good though. Maybe a bit overdressed for a bike ride, but it's a good look for you. I like the hair. It was covering your eyes too much before."

"Thanks," she said, being very coy.

"I'll wait for you downstairs," Seth offered, giving her some privacy.

She slipped into Renesmee's closet looking for a top and grabbed her jeans. Tara's head nearly spun as she thought about the unusual turn her life had taken since arrived in Forks. _"So much for dull and boring_," she thought.

Seth drove Tara through town showing her all of the 3.1 square miles of the small city. It reminded her very much of a tiny little town called Milton, where her grandmother lived. Then they headed south on the 101, cruising several miles down the coast of the Pacific. Tara looked out towards the ocean enjoying the feel of the cold air blowing through her hair.

Seth pulled into a tourist stop near the edge of the coast, overlooking a breathtaking view of the ocean. He removed his helmet after turning off the engine."So what'dya think?" he asked.

"It's beautiful," she replied hopping off the bike and then walked closer to the edge admiring the view. She took in every detail remembering it for later for when she could copy it to her sketch book. A light breeze hit her face and she inhaled the smells of the cool, salty air.

Seth walked over and watched her as she seemed to get lost in the scenery. He chuckled.

"What…?" She looked at him curiously.

"You should have worn the helmet. You should see your hair. Alice will be mad," he chuckled, looking at her new wind-blown hairdo.

"No problem," she said as she grabbed a hair band from her pocket. She pulled her hair back and wrapped it around the ponytail.

Seth smiled at her as she studied him. "You seem unusually comfortable around vampires. I find that odd," she said.

Seth shrugged. "The Cullens are cool. They've been like family to me. We have a lot of history."

"Yes, I saw that from Ness's visions. You defended them too. I find that admirable."

"Well after all we'd been through with them, we weren't about to let those vamps come to town and start killing our friends unjustly."

"So how do you know I'm not just like those _other_ vamps?" Tara leaned against the railing that bordered the cliff's edge. Her face became more serious.

"Like I said, I trust Edward and Bella's judgment." Then he leaned in a bit closer to her. "Plus your eyes look different today. I think you've changed your diet."

"How very observant of you," she said, crossing her arms.

"How's that going for you?" he wondered.

"Mmm, it will take some getting used to. I feel like I have to feed more often. Edward says that will fade as I get used to it, as well as the agitation."

"Agitation?

"Yeah from the change… always feeling hungry when you're not. It'll pass."

"You seem to be handling it quite well. Is it really that difficult? I mean blood is blood right? What's the diff?"

"The _diff _is, it's not the same. Tell you what, try eating nothing but apples for a whole week and tell me how you feel."

"That's not so hard, I _like_ apples."

"Heh, okay! Well I doubt you will after a whole week," she grinned.

Just then the cell phone in her pocket vibrated. It was the one Esme gave her for emergencies. She almost forgot it was even there. Renesmee's name popped up on the caller ID. "Hey Ness," she answered cheerfully then paused as Renesmee talked.

"Oh sorry, I didn't know when you'd be back and Seth offered to take me for a ride…Yeah, we're somewhere on the coast."

Another pause.

"Ok hold on…." She held the phone out to Seth. "She wants to talk to you."

"Hey Ness." he said. After another long pause he spoke to her again. "Really? Yah, we'll come. See you in a while…hey did you bring food? Cuz I'm starving."

Tara remembered how humans needed to eat every few hours. She realized what that grumbling noise she heard was now.

"Kay, see you soon," he said to her before ending the call. "Ok, come on," Seth said as he headed back to the bike waving his hand for her to follow him.

"Where we going?" she asked.

"You'll see," he grinned, nodding for her to follow and get back on the bike.

He returned to the 101 and drove several miles north, finally coming to a dirt road and turned. For a long while she saw only trees and then finally there was a break ahead, seeing patch of sky in the distance. They rode above the shore line, on top of the cliffs, bordering the beach.

Seth parked his bike, allowing Tara to hop off first. He secured his helmet to the seat and started walking towards the cliff. "This way," he said, leading her to a path.

As they got closer to the ocean, Tara heard voices more clearly. She recognized two of them for sure. As they neared the sounds, she saw Renesmee, Jacob and a couple of other boys atop of the cliff. Two of the boys hurled themselves off the cliff while howling.

"Tara!" Renesmee called as she ran over with a welcoming smile. She smiled back.

Jacob followed right behind Renesme and greeted Seth with a high-five. "W'sup guys! I'm glad you made it. Ness really insisted Tara came so she wouldn't be the only girl."

"Oh and I texted mom so she'd know you were here with us too. She also said something about the museum tomorrow..." Renesmee mentioned in a questioning tone.

"Oh, right. She must mean the one in Seattle," she said as she curiously watched Seth pull off his shoes and socks. He looked like he was going to join the other boys in jumping off the cliff. "Ah, so what on the agenda…are you all committing suicide today?" She joked.

Seth laughed. "Hardly. Just some cliff jumping. It's fun you should try it."

Just then, Tara noticed the two boys that had jumped a few minutes ago had already climbed back up onto the cliff. She figured they must be part of the pack since no human could climb those rocks with that speed and strength. Both the boys came over to greet Seth and he introduced them. "This is Embry and Quil," he said introducing the two dripping wet boys to her.

They didn't appear to be cold, but she knew the water temperature had to be glacial. Both boys stared at Tara apprehensively, knowing what she was, but eventually greeted her with a nod.

"Are you jumping?" Quil asked nervously.

"Well I wasn't exactly planning on getting wet today." She stood in a very neutral position as she spoke with him with her hands behind her back.

"Ha! Wuss! What kinda vampire are you anyway? Oh I know….you're just like Rosalie…probably don't wanna mess up your makeup." Jacob teased, happy to have a new vampire to pick on now that Rosalie was away.

Tara became annoyed and gave him a dirty look. She bent over to pick something off the ground. "Oh look Jake….." She held up a twig waving it in front of his face. Then she threw it over the edge. "Fetch!" She smirked at him. It went out so far they couldn't even see where it landed in the water. Seth and the others started to snicker.

"Cute one, Elvira. No problem, though. Why don't you just stay up here and guard our food. I know I don't have to worry about you eating any of it."

"You're right about that… I don't like kibble," she snapped back.

Jacob grinned. "Hey Tara, you know how a werewolf says goodbye to a vampire?"

Tara crossed her arms and frowned.

"_So long - sucker_!" Then Jacob flipped backwards off the ledge.

Renesmee rolled her eyes. "You should just ignore him. He really _hates _being ignored." Then she followed him off the edge into the icy water, squealing as she fell. Jacob waited for her at the bottom then they raced to climb back up. Renesme beat Jacob by a long shot.

Tara stood at the edge of the cliff, peeking down over the edge with her arms still folded. "Well? Wanna try it?" Seth pressed, nodding his head towards the cliff.

"Hmmm," She cocked her head to the side. "It's an awful long way down," she said in teasing tone.

"You're not too scared I hope." One eye brow popped up as he smirked.

"Hardly," she replied. Her mouth flattened in a straight line.

"By the way, isn't this water just a little too _cold _for humans?" she wondered.

"The cold doesn't bother me. I happen to like cold things," he grinned stepping towards her while looking at her reaction.

Her eye brow popped up and she cocked her head to the side. "Oh...is that so?"

"Mmm-hmm," he mumbled. "So... how about it then? Ladies first?" he gestured with his hands.

"That's okay….why don't you just show me how it's done," she said putting her hands on her hips.

"Sure, sure. Just watch the pro." Seth bragged before pulling his t-shirt over his head and tossing it on the ground. "Well ok, here goes nuthin!" he said getting ready to charge.

Tara became distracted as she stared at his muscular chest. She watched as he stepped back a little, getting ready to lunge forward. He dashed for the edge of the cliff but then quickly turned back around reaching for Tara around her waist. He wrapped his arms around her spinning her and then jumping off with her in his arms. Half-way down, she shoved him back and flipped her body around entirely doing a perfect dive into the water. When he surfaced, he looked around for her but she didn't come up to the top. He looked around frantically. It seemed like a very long time for any normal person to be under water, but not for a vampire. Jacob and the others watched curiously from the top of the cliff.

"_Where is she? There's no way she could have drowned_." Seth thought. Just as he started swimming inland, he felt something at his feet. It grabbed him and pulled him down under the water.

"Seth!" Jacob yelled in a panic. He leaped off the edge, diving into the water. The others watched nervously from the top. When Jacob surfaced he looked around in a panic. "Seth!" he yelled again.

Suddenly, Seth's body vaulted up in the air and fell back down further out in the ocean, landing with and enormous splash.

Tara swam so quickly, she was already at the bottom of the cliff when his body came back down and hit the water. She leaped up on the rocks and climbed them with dexterity. Seth's head finally popped out of the water, slightly stunned but unharmed by the throw. Renesmee and the other boys just looked at each other and then laughed hysterically.

Jacob snickered as Seth swam by him. "Wow dude, guess she showed _you _who's Boss!" Jacob teased.

"Shut up!" Seth shoved Jacobs head under and tackled him.

When Tara reached the top of the cliff and pulled herself over the edge Renesmee held her hand out for a high five. She smiled and slapped her hand. "Nice one," she laughed.

Seth climbed back up and sloshed past Renesmee dripping wet. "That was awesome Seth, I didn't even know you could fly," she said with a big grin.

"Shut it, squirt!" He messed up her hair as he passed and then walked over to Tara. She was sitting on the ground, wringing out a sock. "Now that wasn't very nice of you," he said with his arms folded, trying to be serious.

She didn't even look up at him. "Mmm, well….you're the one who thought it would be funny to throw me over a cliff." She said angrily.

He smirked. Then turned and grabbed some towels that spotted. He walked back over to her and put one over her shoulders.

"I'm _not_ cold," she snapped at him, shoving it off still not making eye contact. She continued wring out the other wet sock. Pieces of wet hair stuck to her face and little droplets of water dripped off her chin.

He grabbed the towel again and plopped it back on her head. "You're dripping though."

She yanked it off and then gave him a dirty look as she combed her fingers through her wet hair, brushing it back.

He smiled as he dried his head with the other one. Then he squatted down next to her. You know I kinda thought you were gonna stop me, but you didn't."

Her eyes darted up at him, realizing she wasn't even alarmed when he grabbed her. "Mmm, well I guess I just thought I could trust you…since we're supposed to be _friends_ and all," she said, still irritated.

"Well, I think we're even now. How about we call a truce and start over?" he held his hand out for a truce.

She ignored it and looked away. "I warned you about the teasing, didn't I?" she grumbled.

"Hmm, so you did. Guess I forgot." He pulled his hand back and smiled at her still. "So how 'bout it? Please?" he said nicely.

After a moment she sighed and finally gave in. "Fine," she threw her towel at him then reached in her pocket and pulled out a small electronic device that dripped water. She pitched it at him. "But you better explain _this_ to Esme."

"Ah, Sorry. I forgot all about your phone," he said feeling guilty now.

Suddenly, Seth's stomach growled loudly.

"What was that?" she said.

"That's my stomach. I'm starving." Seth looked around searching for food.

Tara spotted a cooler and pointed. "You should look in that box over there. I just saw one of your friends grab some sort of dead carcass out of it," Tara said in all seriousness.

"Huh?" Seth looked at her as though she spoke in a foreign language.

"Chicken, I think it was chicken." She corrected herself.

"Oh…right," Seth chuckled. He walked over to the cooler and opened the lid, reached in to grab some food and can of soda and then returned to sit sat down next to Tara. "You're right… chicken." He waved a drumstick at her. "I bet Edward made these. He's a great cook."

"He is?" Tara thought about how odd it was for a vampire to have culinary skills but then she realized he probably learned to cook for Renesme since she also consumes human food.

"Yup, sure is. Oh, looks like Ness made the cookies though." He looked at the black underside of one. Renesmee was a terrible cook. No matter how hard she tried, she always burned things. Jacob always teased her saying she obviously didn't inherit the cooking gene that the rest of them had.

Tara smiled and curled her knees into her chest as she watched the others still leaping off the cliff. Though the other boys seemed to make her feel on edge, she felt unusually comfortable around Seth. It was almost impossible for her to resist his amiable personality.

"So…. can I ask you something else? Seth became more serious.

"Are we playing twenty questions today?" she replied still looking out at the ocean.

"Um, I dunno, have I reached my limit yet?"

She grinned rolling her eyes. "No, its fine, go ahead and ask."

"Okay, how old are you?"

She paused for a second looking at her strangely curious human friend. Then she responded. "In human years or vampire years?"

"Both."

"I was turned when I was exactly sixteen and I've been this way for fifty-four years."

"Wow, seventy. That's old!" he joked.

She smiled smugly. "Actually I'm considered young, for a vampire."

"Yeah, now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure Jasper and Carlisle have been around a really long while."

"Yes, they have."

He paused for a moment taking a drink, thinking about asking her some more questions. "So…how did it happen?" He pried again.

"What?"

"Ah, you know…" he paused hoping she'd understand he wanted to know how she became a vampire.

"Oh…" She looked surprised. "You really wanna hear about that?"

"Only if you wanna tell me."

Tara paused again thinking as she stared at the horizon. She was a little hesitant to tell him the story. No one had ever asked her before. She sighed and her face became more serious as she began to speak. "My parents took me to Italy for my sixteenth birthday. My father wanted to surprise me with an extravagant tour of this exclusive art museum of some kind." She paused again. Pain filled her eyes as she stared ahead. "First they killed my mom. Then when one of them came after me, my father pushed me out of the way… but they killed him too."

"Who"? Seth imagined some mad gunmen or something.

She turned her head, looking him square in the eyes. "_Vampires_." Her face looked cold and hard and her eyes darkened with her mood. His expression suddenly changed to surprise and then quickly turned to horror as she continued on. "I was bitten, but it didn't kill me. I hid, somehow. I don't know how but I guess once the venom was in me I was changed. I just remember my father telling me to hide so I crawled under a table and laid there, watching them kill everyone in the room. The only thing that went through my mind was just to try and become invisible or something. I just prayed they wouldn't see me. They should have found me otherwise. They only did later, once the change was completed. I wandered around, confused, hungry…not knowing what happened to me. Then I finally realized… I was _one_ of them."

Seth's heart sank looking at Tara with a sympathetic expression. He couldn't imagine what she must have gone through watching her parents be murdered by vampires. "I'm so sorry. I feel bad for asking now. I can see it's making you uncomfortable talking about it."

Tara shook her head looking down. "It's fine. Ask anything you like of me. If you wish to be my friend, you should know what I am."

Seth paused for a moment before he thought of his next question. "So, they left you alone once they knew you were turned? Did you escape?"

"No, not right away. I couldn't leave and my power was weak at the time. I didn't even know I had a gift right away. I was so confused. Aro took me in…he favored me. He admired my ability, desiring to use it to his benefit. He took me in and tamed me and then taught me how to accept my new life and how to survive. He and the others helped show me to use my gift….how to manipulate people's minds."

"Aro?" He remembered that name well. "The _Volturi _did this to you?"

"Yes."

Seth's blood boiled. He understood Tara's dislike for the Volturi now.

She continued on. "I didn't know what else to do. My parents were dead, I couldn't return home, I had no one and I was…. hungry. They weren't about to just let me go and leaving the Volturi is difficult. I needed to feed and the thirst was unbearable. They only fed me when I did what they wanted. Eventually I just…stayed. They treated me like I was one of their own. I just…became one of them. Once they trusted me enough, they used me to do their dirty work for them. Since I could conceal myself in the daytime they used me to lure people into their place. I brought the unsuspecting tourists right in for them. They never saw it coming." Tara looked down in shame and then continued her telling her story. "One day I finally realized I had become the monster that killed my parents and the next day that they sent me out, I never came back. I stayed in the sunlight for years living in the sunniest parts of the world hoping they wouldn't follow. Then eventually I just found my way back to home town in hopes to find something or someone I was familiar with. The hardest part was when I wandered into our family cemetery and found, not only the tombstones of my parents, but my own as well. Everyone I'd ever known believed that I was dead."

Tara glanced over at Seth who looked like he'd just finished watching a gory horror flick. She also noticed he'd stopped eating his food. "I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't have told you all that. You look like you're about to puke."

"Uh no, no. it's okay. I can handle _that_ part. I just can't imagine what you must have gone through. It's the most tragic thing I've ever heard."

Tara still looked puzzled by his compassion. "It was terrifying, like a horrible nightmare I couldn't wake up from. I didn't even know what it was that attacked us. To think such creatures even existed, was unfathomable. The only vampire I'd ever seen in my life was in an _Abbott and Costello_ film, which was a pretty silly portrayal of Count Dracula."

"Abbott and who?" he asked, unfamiliar with the actor's names.

"Costello." She giggled. "Don't tell me you never heard of them."

Seth shrugged. "Um, no…should I?"

Tara shook her head in disbelief. "It's a Classic. You'd get a kick out of it. It's got a wolf man in it too."

"Heh! Really? That sounds good. I'll have to see that one." Seth was thinking he'd probably sit and watch the weather channel with Tara if she was even the slightest bit interested. He continued with his questions again. "So, you just stopped hunting humans once you left?"

She shook her head looking away. "It wasn't that simple. For a while, to avoid killing the innocent, I went to prisons and jail houses. I felt less guilty about killing criminals. Only problem is, it started gaining attention. Too many prisoners were missing or found dead. I was drawing too much attention to myself so I had to move around a lot. Then I just decided that blood banks would be the simplest thing. It kept me out of trouble."

"Makes sense," he said. "So how long has it been...since you've um…" He couldn't get the word out.

"_Killed?_" she finished for him.

"Yeah."

"You're a very curious creature. Why do you wish to hear all of this?"

"I'm just trying to understand. Do you mind?" His eyes looked soft and sincere.

"No…I don't mind." She took in a deep breath before continuing. "It's been about twenty-three years for me, with one only accident and then never again since."

He looked at her, waiting for her to continue. He seemed to want to know everything so she didn't stop. She was curious at how much information he could take in before he became disgusted with her.

"There was a rapist on the campus a few years ago. He was killing his victims. I didn't bother to get involved or anything. It's not my place to interfere with the humans but one night I heard the screams. I was curious so when I went to see where they came from and I then saw him. He was strangling a young girl in her dorm room. Don't know what came over me but I just….attacked. It was that last time I ever fed on a human. I was too late to save the girl's life though."

"What about the rapist?" Seth wondered.

Her eyes darkened. "They never found his body. I made _sure_ of it." He detected a hint of pleasure when she spoke of the event. A chill surged through Seth's spine. "Am I'm freaking you out yet?" she asked.

"No."

"_No_? None of this bothers you?"

"You rid the world of a killer. Why should that bother me?"

"_Because_, I killed a human being!"

"Anyone that can rape and murder a young girl doesn't really qualify as a human being to me. Maybe you just did the world a favor."

Tara stood up, frustrated. "Don't talk like that. I can't justify killing people no matter what they've done. Don't make me sound like a hero for it." She started to tremble. His reactions were not what she expected.

Seth stood up and touched her arm. "Hey, I'm sorry. I've very opinionated and I think a little differently than the others but you're right, I shouldn't justify it. All I'm trying to say really is that I understand. Don't be angry, okay?"

Tara focused on his hand the moment he touched her. His skin blazed against hers. Looking back at him she tried not to think about it, and nodded. She stared at his face looking as though she wanted to speak, but hesitated.

"What is it?" he asked.

"You have a good soul. You're honest."

He smiled at her. "Thanks. So does that mean you trust me now?"

"Perhaps," she smirked.

He decided to change the subject and lighten the mood a little. "Okay then... how about we go jump some more...since you're already wet and all."

Tara slowly turned her eyes in his direction and gave him a crooked smile. All her frustration and irritation left as he spoke. "Ok, but last one down get's the back seat on the way back!" She sprung up and began to run.

"Oh _hell _no!" Seth charged after her.

**Later on…**

Tara was trying to get Seth to let her drive the bike home since he lost all the races she challenged him to. Seth was already on the bike ready to head out. "Come on! I beat you six times. A deal's a deal!"

"Um… I don't recall actually _agreeing_ to your little bet."

"Then why did you keep racing?" She had her hand on the handle grip right next to Seth's.

"Cause you kept making me!" he complained.

"Please?" she begged.

"No."

"Fine….I'll just walk back to Forks." She turned to leave.

"Tara, you don't even have a license!"

She jumped back over to him, cupping her hands together. "Ok, just to the interstate then?"

Seth sighed and dropped his head. "I can't believe I'm doing this." He moved his arm so she could hop on scooted back on the seat. Her eyes lit up and she jumped on the bike. Seth just shook his head. As he put his arms around her waist, he inhaled a whiff of her hair. It smelled sweet like fresh strawberries and honey, he thought.

Tara let up on the clutch and pulled back on the throttle. She didn't wobble at all and kept perfect balance as she drove up the dirt road several yards. The small engine revved into a high-pitch sound, barely climbing above twenty five miles per hour. Seth put his lips up to her ear though he knew her perfect ears would be sufficient enough to hear him. "Uh, have you ever driven a motorcycle before?"

"Of course. I stole one in Italy, once," she shouted over the whining buzz of the engine.

"What kind was it?"

"A Vespa, why?"

"A _what_? Ok wait, stop…stop...STOP!" Seth reached over Tara and grabbed the handles taking control. He sighed. "Ok, _this _is not a scooter, you have to change gears."

"Oh yeah…that's this over here by my foot right?"

"Yeah, um...maybe I should take over now," he suggested worrying about his bike.

"No, no, come on really…I can drive it." She nudged his fingers away from the handles.

Looking at her for a moment, Seth tried to decide whether he wanted to risk his bike and possibly his life, to please the adorable being he enjoyed hanging onto, even from the back seat of his own motorcycle. He groaned losing the battle with himself and gave in to her. "Please don't kill my bike," he said with a sigh.

She smiled as he grabbed onto her tighter when she sped off. Tara flipped through the gears, speeding up to sixty miles per hour trying to push the bike harder. She weaved in and out and around the path following it with such perfect precision that Seth wouldn't have known she'd never handled a real motorcycle before had he not asked.

"That's the highway up there," he cautioned, "Slow down. Tara... TARA!" She stopped the bike instantly just a few yards short of the interstate.

Seth's body flew forward, slamming into her stone-hard back and he instantly gripped her tightly to keep himself from falling off. "You make a horrible air bag you know."

She turned her head. "Well you're still in one piece aren't you?" she smirked.

"Can I have my bike back now?" Seth started sweating, even though it wasn't even warm out.

Tara spun off the bike, keeping her eyes locked on Seth the whole time with an enormous, confident grin on her face. Then she waited for him to scoot forward and she leaped on, behind him.

"So, you like to go fast?" he asked looking half way back at her.

"Of course," she replied.

Seth grinned and then peeled out onto the Interstate. He showed off a little by exceeding city speed limits on the trip back to the Cullen home. He figured it's always handy when your mother is dating the Chief of Police and you wish to bend the rules a little.

When they arrived at the Cullen home, Tara jumped off the bike and Seth cut the engine.

"So, you wanna come in or do you have to leave?" she asked.

"I've got nuthin to do," he said gladly, shrugging his shoulders and implying for her to lead the way.

As they went in the house, they heard Edward playing a melody on the piano. Bella sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. They were the only ones home. Carlisle had left for his shift at the hospital and Esme was busy doing volunteer work in town. Seth remembered to be careful to guard his feelings while around Edward so he immediately began thinking about food, which was pretty easy because he was hungry.

Tara passed a mirror in the hallway and caught a glimpse of herself and gasped. "I should probably do something with my hair before Alice sees me." He smiled at her wild looking appearance.

Though her clothes were nearly dry from the ride, she decided to change into something clean. "I'll be right back…I'm gonna change out of these."

"Okay…um…I'll be around." Seth thought about wandering into the kitchen to see what Esme had stocked in the fridge.

While Tara was upstairs, she put on a pair of fresh jeans and a tight fitting, hooded shirt. Then she raked a brush through the snarls in her hair and headed downstairs to find Seth, peeking in all the rooms trying to follow his scent. "Hey Edward," she said as she passed the music room.

"Kitchen," Edward chimed when she passed, knowing exactly who she looked for. Tara chuckled and headed back upstairs to the kitchen. She hadn't thought about that one. She only saw the kitchen once during Esme's tour and never needed to be in there since.

She found Seth nibbling on some pizza that Jacob had brought over the other day. "Oh, I'm sorry…I forgot you needed to eat again huh?" she said.

"Yeah, I was feeling a bit shaky. You know, I think Jake and I are the only ones who use this kitchen, except when we get Esme to cook for us."

Tara strolled over to the fridge and peeked in just out of curiosity. She scrunched her nose at the smells that hit her as she opened the door.

"What's with all the eggs?" she wondered as she counted six dozen stacked neatly on the top two shelves.

"Ness really likes eggs. I don't know why," he shrugged. "And since she hates cooking, Edward has always volunteered to do it for her. He says he misses not being able to cook for Bella anymore."

"Hmm, interesting," she pondered the thought, "So…what shall we do after you've consumed your curd-covered-carbohydrate?" she asked as she watched him chewing on a mouthful.

Seth nearly choked on his pizza, laughing at Tara's odd descriptions for his meals. "Do you have to keep talking about my food that way?"

"I'm sorry," she grinned. "So, how is your..._pizza_ anyway?" She slowly pronounced the word.

"Not bad, it'll do the trick. I'm sure it's not as good as mountain lion," he winked.

"Probably not," she laughed.

"What about you? Do you need to um….eat?"

"Are you offering me a snack?" She leaned into closer to him. Her eyebrow popped up as she displayed a devilish grin.

"Umm…." Seth leaned back an inch.

"Relax," she chuckled. "I'm kidding, I'll eat later…when it's dark."

"Do you need an escort?" he offered.

"Absolutely not!" she snapped.

"Oh…." Seth felt a bit rejected.

"You'd scare away all my prey!"

"Oh. No I wouldn't. I go with Ness and Jacob all the time. It's pretty hilarious to watch that tiny little thing take down a giant grisly."

"Mmm… hilarious. Yes, that's exac_tly_ how I wish to portray myself when I'm killing something," she said sarcastically.

"You know wolves hunt too."

"They do?" She didn't think they'd need to, especially when there's human food available to them.

"Yup, we've had to resort to it a few times in the past when it was ah…inconvenient for us to phase back."

"I see, but pizza's much better though, right? She grinned.

"Definitely!" Seth swallowed his last bite.

"So, do you miss it at all?" He said nodding at the empty pizza box next to him.

"Do I miss what?"

"Human food... eating normal stuff."

"Drinking blood _is _normal stuff to me. I have no memory of eating human food, so I guess the answer would be a no." She paused. "You have an awful lot of questions."

"Sorry, does it bother you?"

"No, I'm just wondering what the motivation behind it is."

"Curiosity," he shrugged, hoping she'd accept his excuse. Seth became lost in her eyes as she stared at him. He snapped out of it before he got too carried away, remembering Edward was still in the other room. He started thinking of things they could do to distract his mind.

Tara wanted to pry more into his head but her attention became distracted by the tiny vampire that just hopped off of a tree branch and sprung through the kitchen window. It was Alice, followed by Jasper right behind her. "Hi guys!" she sung cheerfully. Her mood quickly changed once she got a glimpse of Tara's hair though. "Ugh! What have you been doing all day, chasing tornados?"

"_What_? I brushed it out," she shrugged, running her fingers through it. Then Tara looked at Seth. "Is it that bad?" she asked.

Seth shook his head quietly and smiled. He liked her hair. Then his attention suddenly turned to Jasper and they exchanged a friendly nod as he remembered to guard his feelings around him as well, a task he found to be very difficult. Since his feelings of hunger had passed, he began to think about work as a distraction, tuning Alice out for a moment.

She still rambled on about Tara's appearance. "…..and of all the clothes in Nessie's closet you managed to find one of Bella's old outfits. You guys are just killing me!"

"Well it looked comfy. I might hunt later though, maybe I could slip on an evening dress and some pumps and seduce some unsuspecting animals tonight," Tara said with sarcasm.

"Really? Seth asked.

Tara turned towards Seth and gave him a _No, stupid, that was just a joke_, kind of look.

"Are you mocking me?" Alice's eyes narrowed.

"Why no, I would never do that to you Alice." She sung in an innocent voice with a smile.

"Tsk! Whatever! Well I suppose if you're just gonna hang out with a bunch of wolves anyway, there's no need to fuss over you." she huffed before exiting kitchen. Jasper loyally followed behind her.

"Uh, _thanks_ Alice," Seth replied, but she was already gone in a flash.

He turned his attention back to Tara still trying to think of something they could do. "So…do you like watching movies? The Cullen's have like, tons of them."

"A movie? Hmm, that sounds good. Let's just see what they have then, shall we?"

Seth took her to a room that had a seventy-inch plasma TV. Normally when Emmett was there he dominated the television with his sports. Tara picked up three different remotes trying to find the ON button. Seth knew exactly the right one being that he spent so much time watching sports with Emmett or Jacob. As the screen came on, it was already tuned into ESPN. Then he went over to a large cabinet opening the doors, exposing hundreds of DVDs. "Wow," Tara uttered.

"Yeah, I know. It's like having a video store in your own home."

She sifted through the movies looking at the titles. "Gosh…someone really likes horror," she noticed

"That would be Emmett. He collects them all…zombies, vampires, werewolves, aliens…."

Tara looked through the names of each one, all organized alphabetically. "Hey, what'ya know!" Tara said as she pulled out the copy of the nineteen forty-eight movie, _Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein_."

Seth observed the cover which showed pictures of a very vintage-looking Frankenstein, Dracula and wolf man on the front. "So this is the one eh? Oh, hey ya know, I think my dad use to watch these guys when I was little…it's um, black-n-white eh?" he recalled from a memory.

"Yeah that's right," she said. "Cuz, ya know…I'm old and all," she nudged him with a cold elbow.

Seth chuckled. "Ok, let's watch it then." He opened the case and placed the disk in the player, waiting as it whirred up. Tara plopped herself on the floor even though there was a couch. She wasn't used to furniture though she knew what it was for. The floor was just fine for her and she liked looking up slightly at the TV from a lower angle like being at the movie theater. Seth turned the surround sound on and then once the opening credits began, he sat on the floor in front of the couch next to Tara. She curled her legs in towards her chest and wrapped her arms around them and smiled as he made himself comfortable. He was used to sleeping on the floor in wolf form so it didn't bother him much either.

After a several minutes into the movie, Seth put his elbow up on the couch and then propped his head up with his hand. He glanced over at Tara often during the movie, trying not to be too obvious. Though she'd see the movie a dozen times as a kid she still enjoyed it like it was her first time. It amused him when she would laugh at the two slapstick comedians on the screen and he'd laugh with her. About half way through, Tara noticed he wasn't laughing anymore. She peeked at him through the corner of her eye and noticed he'd fallen asleep. His head was resting on his stretched out arm that laid flat across the couch. She cocked her head to the side, curiously staring at him as he slept. He looked very peaceful, she thought. Tara reached her hand out towards his face and paused, yearning to touch his skin. She debated with herself for a moment and then she slowly stroked her finger tips across his warm soft cheek. His skin felt like burner of a stove under them and an efflux of energy pulsed through her arm. She never intimately examined a human this way. She pleasantly enjoyed it, very much as she studied his face intensively, copying all the features to her mind. One of her fingers pushed back a few strands of hair that hung over his forehead. When she realized she was getting too much enjoyment from the experience she pulled her hand back, nervous about the sensations it gave her to touch him. She distanced herself a little, perching herself up on the couch so she just could watch him sleep. She was so absorbed in the moment she didn't even notice when the music had stopped playing down stairs or when Edward entered the room. "So are you supposed to be watching the TV or the sleeping human?" he curiously asked.

"They're so interesting when they sleep," she said as her eyes shifted back to Seth's face.

Edward smiled. Her observations reminded him so much of his days of watching Bella sleeping. He started to notice the way she looked at Seth. It was more than just curiosity that she was feeling. Edward was intrigued as he listened to Seth's dreams. They exposed the enigma in Seth's mind that he could no longer conceal as he slept.

Jacob and Renesmee's voices carried in the hall now. They both stopped to talk to Bella before heading their direction. As they approached Edward met them in the hall and greeted his daughter with a hug and a kiss on the forehead. He only gave Jacob the usual manly nod acknowledging his presence. Then he wrapped his arms around his wife and gave her a very gentle kiss on the lips like he used to do when she was a frail human. Bella took notice in his use of restraint. "Um, that was awfully _reserved_ of you," she commented.

He sighed. "Oh well, I was just having an epiphany…and a bit of DeJaVu. How about we head home?" he suggested.

"Home? Already?" Bella asked. She wasn't thinking about leaving so soon now that her daughter finally returned.

"Yes, I was just having the sudden urge to cover you in feathers." Edward winked.

Jacob seemed to recall a remark about feathers once before, except it was Bella's remark that time. He knew it had to be about something personal and just rolled his eyes.

Bella didn't wait another second. She yanked his arm nearly dragging him behind her as they he sped out of the house.

Tara heard them down the hall speaking. She wasn't quite sure what he meant by what he said but she figured it was code for something very private. She remained quiet at Seth's side just staring, not wanting to wake him just yet. Her mood was spoiled when she heard Jacob's giant feet clomping towards the room. As soon as Jacob entered he noticed his friend passed out next to her. It startled him at first and he frowned but when he realized his friend was only sleeping his mood lightened up. "I see you put him to sleep," he said as he turned his attention to the TV. "Well no wonder, what kind of _nonsense _are you watching?" Lon Chaney Jr. was transforming into the Wolf Man on the TV. "Wow, what lame special effects!" he laughed.

"It was made in nineteen forty-eight, Rin Tin Tin. It's a Classic and it's _supposed_ to be funny."

"Yeah it's a classically _lame_ movie. Look… it didn't even entertain the poor guy enough to keep him awake." They all stared at the unconscious boy.

"Well he's got the right idea anyway, I'm ready for bed," Renesmee said.

"Okay, I'll tuck you in. Go get your PJ's on." He smiled at her with his big warm eyes. When she zipped up the stairs, Jacob walked over and shook Seth's arm to wake him. "Hey Seth, you moving in or what?"

Seth snorted when he woke up and rubbed his eyes. He looked up at everyone in the room as they stared at him. "Oops…sorry, I guess I passed out." Tara smiled at him until Jacob spoke again with a tone that was starting to really annoy her.

"Yeah well I would too I was watching _that_ snore-fest," he teased.

"Guess I missed the wolf man huh?" Seth said to Tara as he stood up stretching.

"Nah, you didn't miss much," Jacob interrupted.

Tara just rolled her eyes and clicked the off button on the remote. She was trying to ignore him like a pesky fly that buzzed around her head. She badly wanted to take a swat at it though.

"Hey Tara, do you know why Dracula has no friends?" She gave Jacob another dirty look, not saying a word. "Because he's a pain in the neck."

"Wow, that's hilarious," she said in a flat tone. "Where'd you get _that_ one, stupid-vampire-jokes-dot-com?"

Seth snickered.

"_No_, I made that up." Then paused thinking. "Hey is that a real site?" he asked making a mental note to google it later. Tara just shook her head rolling her eyes again.

"So, I guess I'll see you around," Seth touched Tara's arm gently taking her mind of her irritation.

Jacob chuckled. "Yeah, _real_ soon I'm sure." He grinned. "Good thing you napped, eh?"

Seth gave him a dirty look. "Weren't you just saying you were leaving?" he grumbled.

"Yep. I just wanna make sure you don't stay up too late. I expect to see you on time to work tomorrow."

"Thanks Jake, I already have a mother…and a sister." Seth grumbled.

Jacob grinned. "Right. See ya." He said just before he disappeared.

Seth shook his head and rubbed his face still feeling a bit groggy. "I better take off. I'm sorry I missed the movie. Maybe we can finish it another time?"

"That sounds fine," She smiled. "I'll see you around then."

"Seth nodded. He knew that was all too true.

**Later that night,** Tara left the house to hunt on her own. She finally captured the mountain lion that managed to get away from her when Paul attacked and scared it away. After being satisfied by her meal, she perched herself in the limb of the tree overlooking the forest. She didn't so much as even blink, staying perfectly still for nearly an hour just watching and listening. As she inhaled the crisp night air she smelled the scent of fire wood burning several miles away. A gentle breeze lightly flickered through the leaves and the light from the moon peeked through them, illuminating the forest. As the cold air shifted, she picked up a familiar scent. Looking deep into the forest thought the trees, she spotted the source. Tara remained perfectly motionless and silent as she observed the large furry creature. It circled the area several times, sniffing the air. Then it put its muzzle to the ground, tracking a scent like a bloodhound. She grinned, curiously tilting her head to one side as she watched it getting closer. After a few moments, it became frustrated until finally it let out a whimper and laid down under the tree folding its paws, resting it's head on them.

Tara stood on the branch and silently tiptoed to the edge. As she leaped down to the ground, her body spun around, landing in front of it. She then slowly stood up making eye contact as it lifted its head and snapped up on all fours. She slowly walked forward until she stood face to face with it. Her eyes widened with amazement of its size. She never examined a wolf so closely, let alone one this large. She recognized the scent and the eyes immediately. "Seth?" she whispered.

The wolf nodded stepping closer.

Tara's eyes widened with amazement as he towered over her. She stepped back cautiously and Seth picked up on her fear. She looked around for others and then looked back at his big brown eyes. Something about them stared right through her.

He stopped moving and shook his head, hoping she wouldn't take off. She paused for a moment watching him.

"You won't hurt me will you?"

He shook his head again.

She stepped closer wanting to see him up close. She slowly reached out her hand to touch his pelt and caressed his head, running her fingers through his fur. "Wow," she gasped as she closely looked him over.

He closed his eyes tilting his head in towards her hand. The corners of her mouth turned up as she put her other hand to his face and pet his soft fur coat. He was in heaven.

"You're so soft," she said. "You know, you're actually kinda... _cute._" She grinned.

Seth let out a low grumble.

"Oh sorry, I mean ferocious looking. Really, really ferocious," she corrected "But what are you doing out here so late?"

Seth looked down to the side, slightly embarrassed.

"Are you looking for something?"

Seth nodded, then put his nose up to Tara's hair and began sniffing. It tickled, making her giggle. "Ah, you tracked me, but why? Am I doing something wrong?"

He shook his head.

She sighed. "Could you change back to a human so you can talk? This is kinda frustrating."

His eyes widened, remembering he ran all the way from the reservation not thinking he'd need a change of clothes. He groaned and shook his head.

"Why not?" Tara looked up at the sky. "Is it the full moon?"

Seth let out a loud wolfy laugh and shook his head.

"Okay, okay. Come on, I'm new at this. She tried to think of a reason why couldn't change back into in front of her. Finally the light bulb came on in her head.

"Ohh," Tara snickered. "I get it, you're… naked!"

Seth put his paw over his face.

"It's okay," she said still giggling. "Looks like I'll just have to do all of the talking." As she continued to pet his face, his eye lids fought to stay open. His body swerved back and forth, feeling woozy. He plopped down on the ground curing up into a ball trying very hard to keep his eyes open while Tara talked. She sat close to him, gently stroking the fur on his back.

She prattled on for a while about herself and all the places she'd been up until she returned to New England. She talked about the museum, about how her and her mother loved art and how her parents had planned to send her to Dartmouth once she had graduated high school. Before long, Seth finally lost his fight to stay awake and could no longer hold up his heavy eye lids. She looked over at him, watching him sleep peacefully. She caressed his back a few times, running her hands though his soft coat. After a while she rested her head on his back and gazed up at the moon and the stars.

Tara stayed with him till the sun rose. In the early morning, a variety of birds sung their melody. Seth lay for an hour more until his ears picked up the sounds around him. He opened his eyes and looked down at Tara, curled up into his side. She watched him sleep, still playing with his fur. They sat silently looking at each other for a while before Seth's stomach started to growl. "I take it that means you're hungry again?"

Seth thought about it for a moment, not really wanting to get up but then he shook his head.

"We should head back. I don't wanna worry them. I _have_ been gone all night."

Seth stood up and leaned forward, putting his arms out front and stretched his long back, then shook his body like a dog waking from a long slumber. "Ready to go?"

Seth nodded .

"Okay, then let's see how fast you are. Race you there!" Tara suddenly vanished. She was merely a blur moving through the forest.

Seth chased after her taking long strides and leaping over vast amounts of terrain. He thought he'd almost lost her when the blur disappeared but then something made him stop abruptly in his tracks. He saw the vision of white wolf standing in front of him. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head wondering if his mind was playing tricks on him. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Tara standing in spot where the white wolf was.

She let out a playful snicker and disappeared into the trees again. He stood there in shock for a moment but then started chasing after her once more. Running as fast as he could he finally caught up to her. Then he leaped over her head and completely passed her. He stopped at the edge of the woods just behind the Cullen home, skidding in the dirt spinning around right in her path.

Tara stopped instantly, just inches from him. "You beat me," Tara grinned from ear to ear. "You had to work really hard to do it though. You're winded."

Seth let out a big sigh as she reached up and touched his face again. He closed his eyes as she ran her fingers though his thick fur.

"This is very strange for me, but I really have enjoyed spending time with you. Thanks for making me feel welcome here."

His eyes lit up when she smiled.

"Well… see you around." She fluttered her fingers at him then quickly spun on her toes and dashed off. "Oh and uh…don't be late for work." She winked.

He let out a snort. Then he watched as she headed for the house. She stopped and turned to look one last time before entering and then shut the door.

Seth finally turned and headed home. But as he dashed though the forest, he picked up on an intruder following him. "_Damn,"_ he thought, as his sister Leah ran up beside him.

"_What the hell are you doing!_" she demanded to know.

"_Nothing!"_ he grumbled.

"_I warned you not to do this Seth_!"

"_Just mind your own business Leah_."

"_This is nuts! She's…she's …not even human. She's a vampire. You can't do this!"_

"_I know what she is, and you know I have no control over the situation. It's just happened. Besides, I don't mind so much. She's actually very sweet and if and if she'll accept it, I wanna be with her"._

"_You're going to tell her? How? What if she doesn't take it well, Seth? You could be risking your life."_

"_I haven't figured it out just yet. I don't have all the answers. I don't know how to tell her just yet."_

_"Then don't!" _

"_Just stick to our deal and keep Sam's pack out of this for now. Jacob promised he'd do the same"._

"_But they can protect you_."

"_I don't need their protection. I don't think she'd hurt me. I protected her, remember_?"

"_Don't remind me. It would have better if you just let Paul kill her. Problem solved! I don't like this at all_."

"_Just shut up Leah, It not even your problem anyway_!"

"_I'm just worried. I don't want you to get hurt_."

"_Well stop worrying. I can handle it_."

"_Mom's not gonna be happy, did you even think about how this will affect her_?"

"_Yes, and in fact, mom's engaged to Charlie, whose daughter is a vampire also, and F-Y-I - that would make Bella our step-sister."_

She thought about it for a moment. "_Damn…this is all getting so…. weird_."

"_Not to me. I'm totally fine with it_."

"_Well, that's great for you but what about the rest of us_?"

"_Look I'm sorry you don't like it but I can't change it_."

"_Oh, well fabulous! As long as YOU'RE happy_!"

"_I told you, it's not a choice but I don't care. I want this. It doesn't matter to me that she's a vampire. Maybe there's something different about me. Maybe there's something different about the both of us. You haven't even been imprinted on yet."_

"_Yeah well I sure as heck don't wanna get stuck with any vampires! It's gross_."

"_That's your opinion_!" he thought as he grumbled.

"_Well, this isn't gonna fly Seth. You're gonna have the others in an uproar over this one"._

"_You have to keep this to yourself. Promise you'll keep the others out of your head okay? Just till I can figure this out…. Please_?"

"_Fine."_ She huffed. "_Figure it out soon though_." Then she disappeared


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 - Trust**

Tara began feeling more comfortable with the Cullens as the weeks went by. Edward and Bella took her around to some of the neighboring cities. They visited the Museums in Port Angeles and then drove to Olympia and Seattle to see some of the art museums.

Esme and Alice insisted on taking Tara on a shopping trip for new clothes since she only owned the one outfit she arrived in. Though Renesmee and Bella already gave Tara free rein of their closets, Esme decided she should have her own things, hoping it would make her feel as though she belonged there. She even considered redecorating one of the extra rooms in the house to give her privacy, but she held off on presenting the idea after seeing how well the girls bonded. They both seemed to enjoy sharing a room with each other for the time being.

Each day Jacob came by to see Renesmee, Seth tagged along. He desired to become more acquainted with Tara but tried not to make it too obvious. The Cullens didn't suspect anything since they were used to Seth always being around Jacob so his frequent visits didn't seem out of the ordinary to them. Tara took a liking to his presence, developing a fascination with him she couldn't explain. She hovered when he and Jacob came around and her bond with Seth grew stronger each day.

Eventually it became too difficult for Seth to control his thoughts around Edward however. He began to doubt his ability to keep the mind-reader out of his head, worrying about the reaction the Cullens might have to the imprint on their new family member. He worried most about Tara's reaction though and as much as he desired to tell her, he still could not bring himself to do it just yet. Not wanting to take the risk of Edward exposing him, Seth completely avoided visiting when Edward came around. It didn't take long for Tara took notice Seth's absences. His constant avoidance made her wonder if he'd lost interest in their friendship. She wasn't quite sure why it mattered, however. The emotion she sensed frustrated her. She tried to convince herself it wasn't in her best interest to care, though she knew deep down she really did.

Seth's ability to refrain from seeing Tara didn't last long. He craved to be near her and knew he would need to find another way to get closer, even if it meant bringing her to the reservation. Knowing his best option would be to find her when she was away from the other vampires. When she went off to hunt would be the best opportunity, he thought. Seth patiently waited for his opportunity to follow her.

Hunting animals appealed to Tara even more now. As she headed deep into the Olympic forest, she encountered a large black bear that satisfied her thirst. She understood why Emmett and Renesmee enjoyed hunting those most soon as she discovered that bears put up an entertaining fight. When she finished her meal, she curiously roamed through the forest following the sound of running water in the distance and came across a large body of water. A giant cascade spilled into the pool below. The remote area seemed completely secluded, hidden behind a dense cover of trees and vegetation. The water looked inviting. Upon deciding to take a swim, Tara removed all of her clothing under the assumption that she was completely alone. Once the rain passed, the clouds shifted and the moon lit up the sky and forest. Its light beamed off the surface of the water. She dove deep into the pool and swam all the way to the bottom, staying immersed under the cold depths for a long while.

Seth remembered to carry extra clothes with him this time, as he tracked her scent through the forest until he reached the waterfall where her trail ended. Sensing he was near her, he morphed and dressed quickly. He crept up to the water hole and searched for her, but she was nowhere to be seen. Feeling confused and worried, he started to turn away, but out of the corner of his eye he captured a glimpse of a head appearing out of the water. Silently creeping forward to get a better look, he realized it was her. He slowly crouched down, remaining completely motionless as he watched her dive under and resurface over and over. Then swam towards the waterfall and leaped out onto the rock basin allowing the water to beat down on her face and head. Seth froze and his eyes grew wider as he immediately noticed her lack of clothing. "_Oh crap,"_ he thought. He felt his heart pounding inside his chest and became fluster as he stared at her naked body. Feeling guilty he turned his eyes away, realizing his bad timing. Sweat began to stream down his forehead and his shallow breaths suddenly became deeper and more rapid.

Tara hadn't taken a breath since she resurfaced but even through the crashing noise of the waterfall, she heard the pounding of a heart beat. She stepped out of the current and inhaled deeply. "_Wolf",_ she thought letting out a low deep growl. Immediately upon realizing she wasn't alone, she vanished.

Seth decided it would be best to leave. He knew this would be a really bad time to make his presence known to Tara but as he slowly began to stand and turn, he noticed she no longer stood in the waterfall. He snapped his head around, frantically searching for her. A feeling of uneasiness came over him and he stood up abruptly, ramming his head into a tree limb. His eyes closed as he stifled a yelp, reaching up to his head with both hands and clenching it tightly where he'd bumped it. He rubbed the sore spot while trying to straighten his legs so he could turn and leave. As soon as be spun around, fully opening his eyes, he came face to face with a dark figure standing only inches from him. He gasped upon realizing it was her.

Tara stood directly in his path, fully dressed again though droplets of water dripped from the strands of hair that hung over her pitch black eyes. Her angry eyes stared him down as she growled . "Oh shi...," he started to say just before she gripped his throat and cut him off.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she hissed through her teeth. "Were you just _peeping _at me?"

"No!" he gasped, trying to get enough air to speak. He effortlessly grasped at her hands on his neck, trying to pry her fingers loose. It was like trying to bend iron.

"I should rip your eyes out you filthy mongrel! How dare you!"

Seth managed to suck in a breath of air to speak again. "Wait!... lemme… explain…" Tara only cut him off again as she tightened her grip. She was so blinded by fury she never saw the wolf as it came barreling at her with a furious rate of speed. Jacob snarled just before he knocked her flat on her back, leaping on top of her. Seth coughed as the air filled his lungs again when she released him.

Tara kicked her feet upward, throwing Jacob off and hurled him over her head. She leaped back into a standing position ready to fight. She quickly noticed a large gash on her arm that ran from her right shoulder to her elbow. Within seconds, the wound closed up, healing perfectly without even the trace of a scar. Her head snapped back in Jacob's direction, angered by his attack. "That's it Jacob Black! I've had just about enough of you! You wanna pick a fight with me? Let's go!"

Seth jumped in front of Tara before she could attack. "Stop!" he ordered in a raspy voice, trying to gain back his vocals. She just hissed at Seth and she shoved him out of the way, headed for her target.

Immediately another wolf appeared. Leah, who came with Jacob, had been standing just in along the border of the trees waiting for her opportunity to intervene. Jacob ordered for her to stay back until he gave her the word however she wasn't about to wait any longer. She protectively leaped to Jacob's side, letting out a violent roar, heeding a warning for Tara to back off. Neither Jacob nor Leah really wanted to start a fight, knowing there would be consequences to face if they harmed the girl. They only wanted to protect Seth.

Tara also wasn't so sure she would be ready to face two wolves at the same time. She hesitated but stood ready. "What the hell is your problem? This happens to be neutral territory so why are you threatening me?"

Jacob quickly transformed back to his human form so he could speak and Tara threw her arms up at the sight of him, trying to obstruct the view of Jacob's frontal extremities. "Ugh! Jacob, gross! That's _way_ more of you than I ever wanted to see!"

"Hey, this is what I am so get over it! It's not like we can wear clothes over our fur out here."

"Well go grab a leaf or something! I'm not about to stand here and talk to you like that!" Just then, Seth's shirt hit Jacob in the face. He took it off so Jacob could use it to cover himself.

Leah decided against phasing back to human form. She didn't trust Tara and remained in her wolf form to protect her pack.

Seth tried again to plead his case. "Tara, please just listen to me …" She turned and looked at him with a pained expression. Though she felt humiliated and angered she still decided to listen. "I had no idea you were swimming in the...um…the _nude_." Seth paused between words looking over at Jacob and Leah's reaction. Then he focused his attention back to Tara.

Jacob shook his head. "Huh?" he said, looking confused. "What's going on here?" How come you attacked Seth?"

"Because your _wolf-boy_ here was peeping on me while I was taking a swim and _no_, I don't own a bathing suit, so of course I was naked. Furthermore, I had no reason to think there would be anyone out here at this hour!" she shouted.

Jacob just shook his head again and chuckled, realizing there had been a misunderstanding. "Wow, well that's um, quite a story there Seth. I guess you have some explaining to do." Then he hesitantly turned to Tara, unpleased that he had to apologize to a vampire. "Sorry about the misunderstanding but you attacked my friend and I can't allow that. We were simply defending our own," he grumbled.

"Okay well, fine, I _go_t it. That doesn't explain why you all feel the need to follow me around still! How long is this going to go on for? Are you all planning to track me for the duration of my stay or are you just hoping you'll run me out of town eventually?"

"No, that's not our intentions. I think we can safely assume for now that there's no immediate danger here, but that doesn't mean we can just let our guard down. You need to understand that. I'm only doing my job," Jacob warned. Then he looked at Seth who had a shameful expression on his face. "But as far as answering your _othe_r question, I'm just gonna leave that one up to Seth." Lastly he turned to Leah. "I think we're finished here." He nodded for Leah to follow him. She growled not wanting leave just yet.

"It's fine Leah, let's go," he ordered. "Seth can handle this. It's his mess." Jacob took one last turn back to Tara. "Can I trust you won't be harming my best friend then?" he asked for Leah's benefit.

"Yeah, I've pretty much calmed down now. You can go so Seth can _beg_ for my forgiveness." Tara's eyes narrowed as she stared at Seth. She folded her arms across her chest.

Jacob figured he could leave safely now. He grinned as he handed Seth the shirt he used to cover himself with but Seth shoved his hand back with a grimace. "Uh yeah, you can just _keep_ that now."

"Whatever!" Jacob threw it at him the he turned in a flash making a running leap into the air as he shifted back to a wolf. He and Leah ran for the tree line. Leah stopped just before entering the forest and turned her head looking back at Seth one more time before she disappeared into the green umbrage.

Seth looked back at Tara. She stood with her arms folded, silently waiting. He could see the variations of emotion in her expression. "I'm sorry," he said finally.

"What on earth were you doing? How did you know I was here? Did you track me again?"

"Uh, y-yeah," he confessed.

"Why_?_ What are you stalking me or something? I don't get it….first you say we're friends, then you ignore me, and now you pull _this_! I thought you trusted me - I thought I could trust _you_!"

"I do...you can… it's …it's just… complicated."

"Well, what the hell does _that_ mean?"

Seth let out a sigh. "I…I followed you because I wanted to see you, I mean... I didn't want to see you naked..." Tara's eyes grew wider as Seth put his foot deeper into his mouth as he continued to talk. "Not that I'm saying that you look bad naked or anything." He stumbled over his words nervously. Tara just frowned. Though his story didn't seem to improve the situation, he continued to ramble on. "But I had no idea what you were naked until I saw you come out of the water. I just thought I would surprise you and gosh did I ever but I just missed you and just wanted to come see you and that's all, I swear."

Her expression softened. "Y-you missed me?" Tara said surprised.

"Yes." He nodded.

"Well, couldn't you have just picked up a phone and called me? I could have seriously hurt you! I don't see or hear from you in days and then you just show up out here spying on me like some sort of pervert."

"I know. Calling would have been the _smart_ thing to do. I just…" he sighed. "I haven't been able sleep well and next thing I knew I found myself heading to your place but you were gone when I got there." Seth cautiously took her hand in his as he tried to apologize. "I really _am _sorry."

His hand felt warm and comforting. She found her anger slipping away but she didn't want to let him off the hook so easily. Nor did she want him to know how much she enjoyed his touch. She yanked her hand away. "You _should_ be. What if I had hurt you? You didn't even fight back. Why didn't you change when I attacked you?"

"Because I didn't want to fight you."

"So you would have just let me rip you to shreds?"

"No, I wouldn't have let it get to that point. I just hoped you'd let me explain first."

Tara shook her head. "That was very foolish of you." She frowned.

"I didn't want to hurt you. You saw what Jacob did to your arm. You're not as indestructible against us." Tara glanced at her shredded sleeve. She started to think Seth was right and that maybe she might not have fared so well fighting with Jacob.

"I won't hurt you Tara. Not ever. Do you understand?"

"No, not really." She shook her head.

"Why, what don't you get?"

"You're behavior! You're _niceness_ towards me. It's not _normal_."

"Well what do you want me to be, a _jerk_? I'm your friend, how else do you expect me to treat you?"

"I dunno. I suppose I expected you to act like the others so towards me. I expected you to treat me like they did when we first met but you're different. I'm just really confused. I mean... you said were friends but you just stopped coming around, so I thought maybe you changed your mind."

"Is that what you think? I'm sorry, I had good reason for not coming by but it wasn't anything like that. I promise." Tara gave him an unconvincing look. "So, do you _not_ want to be friends anymore?" he asked.

"N-no. I like being friends with you …even though I think it's a little strange."

"Okay, then tell me what's bothering you."

"I just thought you trusted me. I thought I could trust you too."

"I _do_ trust you, and you _can_ trust me."

"And _them_? She referred to Jacob and Leah. "They followed me too."

"No, actually…. they followed _me_," he confessed.

"You? But why?"

"They're just a little worried about me spending so much time with…you ...alone. They're just being over protective, especially Leah. It's hard for her not to."

Tara's expression shifted. "They're afraid I'll hurt you." she realized.

"Yes."

"Then I suppose it didn't help that I lost my temper in front of them."

"Don't worry about that. It's hardly your fault. I shouldn't have snuck up on you."

"No, you shouldn't have."

"So, how about it then? Will you give me another chance? Can we still be friends?" he hoped.

She sighed. "Are you sure that's such a good idea? Maybe it's not so healthy for you for have a vampire for a friend."

"I'm not worried."

"Well, you're friends are."

"They'll get over it." He persisted.

"That's not very reassuring. I don't like being followed when I go out."

"I know… But maybe it would help if they just saw more of you."

"Honestly I don't think they want to see _more_ of me."

"Maybe so...but I think it would help." Seth paused, thinking. "I have an idea."

"And what's that?"

"Come to La Push with me this weekend. A few of us are going surfing and … "

"What! The _Reservation_? Are you kidding?"

"No I'm serious. What? ..can't you surf?"

Tara rolled her eyes. "Yes I can _surf_, but that's irrelevant. I can't go _waltzing_ down there. The Pack will want to eat me alive!"

"Jacob already gave you permission to come on our land. It'll be a good way for them to see you and get to know you better. I'll be right there with you to make sure nothing bad happens." She stared at him like he was crazy. "You want to be trusted right?" he asked.

"Well, I don't think _that'_s the best way." She folded her arms.

"Don't you wanna hang out with me anymore?" He used the puppy-faced guilt on her.

"Well yes, but…."

"Are you afraid?"

"No!" That got under her skin. She didn't like to be accused of being afraid of them.

"Okay then, I'll pick you up around nine."

Tara sighed, giving in only because she knew deep down she wanted to be with him. "I don't know how I'm letting you talk me into this," she said shaking her head.

**The next morning. Somewhere after 10am…**

Tara shoved a towel into her back pack, along with a hair brush and a change of clothes. She hadn't remembered ever needing so many items for a small trip before. She always lived very simple and carried few things with her. Now she needed to get used to the idea of being seen. For the first time in a very long time she, paid attention to her appearance.

Alice gave her a body suit to wear since she didn't own a bathing suit. She preferred to wear one since it covered her albino-like complexion. Alice also predicted bouts of sunshine throughout the day giving her another excuse to cover herself up. She didn't know how Seth would react to seeing her glittering skin and she promised not to disappear on them while she was on their land. Tara planned to keep her word.

As she sat on Renesmee's bed waiting for Seth to arrive, she became engrossed in a novel she'd found in Carlisle's collection. The smell of axle grease and dog gave her the indication that Jacob had arrived. She jumped up and zipped into the bathroom. "I think your ride is here," she informed her. Both Alice and Renesmee looked up. "Hey, that looks cute," she added, complimenting Renesmee's hairstyle. Alice had skillfully weaved it into a long French-braid.

"Thanks," Alice replied, taking credit for her work. "I'll do yours next," she offered going back to her work to finish quickly.

"Thanks Alice but I'm only gonna get it all wet anyways, how about tonight after I get back?" she said feeling guilty for rejecting her.

"Well, Rosalie will be here by then but... maybe I could squeeze you in."

"Oh… right." She remembered. Tara heard a variety of things about Rosalie, especially the jokes Seth and Jacob made about her. Their comments left her with the impression that she was quite vain.

Just then, Jacob popped his head in. "Hey beautiful, you ready yet," he asked.

"She's all yours." Alice said, releasing her.

Jacob nodded at Tara."Wuz-up Morticia?"

"Hey ..Cujo," she quickly snapped back. Tara squished the urge she felt to slash his tires. She glanced over Jacob's attire. He wore only a pair of swim trunks and a Tee.

"Looks like your boy is late. Get used to it, he's always late," he told her.

"No biggie," she shrugged.

"You sure you don't wanna ride with us? He can just meet us there," Renesmee offered.

Tara didn't have the least bit of desire to sit in the back of Jacob's Rabbit however, nor did she want to go to La Push without Seth at her side. The idea of being on wolf territory made her anxious, but being with him gave her a more guarded feeling. "No thanks. I'm in no hurry."

"Worried?" Jacob grinned.

"About?" she questioned.

"Being on the Rez. You look nervous." He grinned. Jacob liked the idea of putting some fear in her.

"Not at all." She lied. "Do I have a reason to be?"

"Nope, not as long as you behave," he warned.

"Of course." She said, giving him a stern look. Jacob's attitude towards her was getting on her last nerve. As he and Renesmee turned to leave, Tara called out to her. "Oh hey, Ness... do you know how to stop a dog from howling in the back of the car?"

"Um, no… how?" Ness asked.

"Put him in the _front_," she replied.

Renesmee giggled at her joke. Jacob just rolled his eyes and smirked as he led Renesmee by the hand. They disappeared out the door and headed for La Push. Alice however, still had her sights on Tara. "Last chance beauty call," she said, pointing at the little chair in front of her.

"Thanks Alice, but I'll be getting on a motorcycle in a few minutes and then heading to a beach. There's really no point."

Alice sighed. "Well you should really wear a helmet at least so least it won't get so wind-blown. I could give you some cute little braids that would stay in, even while you're swimming."

Tara pondered the thought for a moment deciding she really didn't want to be bothered with her hair too much so she plopped herself into the chair in front of Alice. She figured she had some time to kill anyways. Several minutes passed before she heard the hum from Seth's bike coming up the road. Alice sensed Tara becoming anxious to get up. "Almost done, sit still please." Her fingers were a blur as she weaved her hair in and out, working very fast.

Seth parked his bike out front and hurried into the house. When he opened the door, he heard the light melody of a piano that echoed though the rooms. The music suddenly came to a halt the moment he headed for the stairs. Before Seth's foot touched the first step though, he felt a cold hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Edward staring at him with a stern look on his face. "Edward," Seth jumped, startled to see him. He stared at him waiting, wondering what he wanted.

Seth's thoughts were no longer a secret to him. He leaned in close to his friend. "Be _very_ careful." he said in a low, almost inaudible tone.

Seth's face changed. He tried to interpret what Edward meant. "I intend to. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on things and make sure nothing goes wrong, if that's what you're worried about."

"I'm sure you will, however, that's _not _what I'm referring to." Edward didn't even blink once as he spoke very seriously. He glanced up at the stairs, listening to Tara's thoughts. "It's obvious to me that she knows nothing. I understand what you're doing, so I've been patient and kept my silence. However...I don't think you understand what you are dealing with. I just want to caution you. You're my friend, and I don't wish to see you hurt, in any way."

"Thanks Edward, but I got this one, okay? I think I can handle it."

"I hope so, for your sake." Edward nodded and stepped back, letting Seth continue up the stairs to get Tara.

As he headed down the hall he spotted Alice just coming out of the bathroom. "Hey Alice," he said to her in a friendly tone.

"She's all yours…" was all she said, but before leaving, she turned back quickly to give him a word of advice. "Be sure you keep that pack of yours under control. I'm trusting you'll keep her well guarded for us."

"Of course Alice, you have my word on that," he assured her.

"Good," she said smugly then continued walking.

Seth almost passed the bathroom, until he spotted Tara looking at her hair in the mirror. She immediately turned towards Seth. When he entered she reached for her bag, swinging it over her shoulder. His grin grew wider while staring at her new hair style, admiring the braids Alice put on each side. Her new look made her look like a Native American porcelain doll, he thought.

"What?" she wondered as he kept staring.

Seth ran his finger under one of the braids. "I really like this look on you," he said as his finger reached the end of her braid and let it fall back in its place. "You know… you're very pretty…for a vampire that is," he added with a wink.

"Thanks, I think." They both smiled.

"Sorry I'm so late. I tried to power nap and I just ended up oversleeping."

"Hmm, well maybe you should try sleeping instead of lurking around the woods at all hours of the night. It's dangerous out there. You never know what creatures you might run into," she teased.

Seth laughed. He was happy to see her in such a light mood. "You're right and I'll have to think of how I can make it up to you."

"Oh, don't worry, I have an idea," she said before quickly disappearing before his eyes. He only felt the gush of air as she dashed out of the house.

Seth ran after her to see what she was up to. When he came outside she was sitting on the bike with her hands at the handles waiting for him. "Umm, what are you doing?" he asked as he got closer.

"Letting you make it up to me for being late. Hop on," she nodded her head at the back of the bike.

"I am _so_ not riding on the _back_ of my bike to La Push. I have my limits and that is _definitely_ one of them!"

"Hey that's not right you owe me! You even said..."

"No way! Have you _looked _at me? Do you have any idea how silly I would look holding onto you on the back of this thing? An isolated trail is one thing but I _do_ know people in this town and I would never hear the end of it. I'll take you riding off-road another day, I promise, okay?"

Her lips turned down into a pouty frown.

"Come on..._Pale-Face_, let's go while it's still high tide," he said, holding onto the clutch, refusing to give in.

She smiled when he called her that name. Then she let out a small sigh. "Fine, but you better! I won't let you forget either." She let go of the front of the bike and scooted back allowing him to hop on in front. Then she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I'm sure you won't," he grinned, shaking his head.

Tara recognized the route they took through town as Seth turned out unto the 101 interstate. He drove north until he came to a turn. She read the sign at the intersection: **La Push Road. **They crossed over a long river then continued on for several miles more. Tara smelled the briny air as Seth turned his bike onto a dirt road, much like the one that led to the cliffs. The road was edged by beautiful dense green forests.

He pulled into an open lot that appeared deserted except for Jacob's car. After pulling up next to it, he cut the engine. Tara hopped off the bike and waited while he removed his bag from the back and swung it over his shoulder.

"This is it, there is a small trail this way," he said. Just as she started to turn and follow the path, he stopped her and reached for her backpack. "Wait," he said as he slid it off her back, gesturing to carry it for her. He began walking again and she gave him a funny look, not understanding his actions. When Seth noticed she wasn't moving he looked back. Her odd stare made him do a double take. "What's wrong?" He wondered.

"You realize I could easily carry _you_ on my back, right?"

"Well, that doesn't mean I don't have to be a gentleman does it?" he replied.

"Oh." Tara wasn't used to that kind of treatment since she always had to be very independent.

"Does it bother you?" he asked.

"Oh.. no, I'm just not use to that sort of thing...I think I could get used to it though," she smiled.

"Good." He smiled back.

Leading her through a long trail, he thoughtfully held all the branches out of her way along the path and even offered his hand to her when she had to leap over a fallen tree. She played along with his chivalry. As they broke through the confines of the forest, she saw the rock shore in front of them. A thin border of sand edged the water, turning into millions of large smooth stones and drift wood trees. A brisk, cool breeze came in off the waves. As she looked out toward the ocean, she spotted Jacob and Renesmee out in the water already, but no one else. "Where are all the people?" she asked looking out at the empty beach figuring on a day like this there would be a mob of people there.

"Oh, this is ourprivate spot. We always come here. Too many tourists and kids on the other side."

Tara suspected that was more for safety rather than privacy. She accepted the conditions since she was glad it would only be them - actually preferring it. She noticed something else, though. She was quite sure she smelled more than one wolf nearby. Even through the thick salt air, their scent was very strong. "So... how many of them are out there?" she asked.

Seth stopped walking and turned around to face Tara. He didn't expect that question from her.

"I know they're watching me. I can smell them," she added.

He sighed. "There's six of them that came...I'm sorry...this is a first since Renesmee and they're a bit nervous about having you here so close to their families."

She nodded figuring that was to be expected. "Well aren't you too?" she wondered.

"No, I told you….I trust you."

She shook her head, still perplexed by Seth's trusting nature.

He dropped their things in the sand where the group had set up a small camp. Two blankets lay on the sand with piles of towels and a few bags filled with a variety of items for the beach. Two large coolers sat off to the side, little closer to the edge of the forest filled with enough food feed a pack of wolves. A single surf board stood erect out of the sand. She assumed it was left for Seth. "Guess we're short one," she said looking at the board.

"Oh yeah, well when they come in I'm sure you can use Ness's board, unless you wanna take mine now...I'll hang back for a while, I don't mind."

"No...that's okay...I'd rather wait for you."

Seth smiled. "We'll wait then."

Tara didn't mind the idea of spending time alone with Seth without the others, in fact, she desired it. She studied him closely and quickly observed a familiar look in his eyes. "I'll bet you didn't eat this morning did you?"

He seemed surprised by her observation. "Actually, I was in such a rush, I totally forgot. How'd you guess?"

"Because I know _hungry_ when I see it." Her eyebrow rose up.

"Hmm, well I guess I'd better take care of that then." He walked over to one of the coolers and opened it pulling out two sandwiches wrapped in foil then opened and sniffed it. Ham and cheese, something he liked. Then he grabbed a soda from the other cooler.

He watch as Tara stepped over to examine the surf board while he sat down to eat. "I wish I could offer you something. I feel rude eating in front of you all the time." he said, peeling away the foil from one of his sandwiches.

"I'm good. I don't mind watching," she admitted, circling the surf board. "So is this one yours?" she asked.

"Yup," he said just before taking a bite.

"It's nice. _These _are expensive." She ran her hand down the side of the board.

"Thanks. It was a graduation present from Charlie. He told me if I graduated with honors he'd buy it for me. I don't think he knew what he was getting into when he offered but he stood by his word."

"Charlie?" She looked puzzled.

"Yeah...um, Bella's dad." He explained. Though Tara knew who Charlie was, she didn't understand the connection or why he would give Seth such an elaborate gift.

"That was nice of him. Are you close to him or something?"

"Well yeah, ..he's dating my mom." He explained in more detail.

"Oh." Tara paused, thinking again. She didn't know there was that close of a relationship going on. She then wondered about Seth's father. "So…are your parents divorced then?" she asked bluntly.

Seth turned his head down. "Uh, no." He said shaking his head slightly. "My dad passed away." His voice faded at the last two words.

Tara noticed Seth stopped eating. She didn't think it was good sign. Then she remembered when he said he knew how painful it is to lose a parent but she hadn't realized he was talking from personal experience. In a flash, she was crouched in front of him. "I'm sorry, were you close to him?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Yes...very."

"What happened?" she pried again.

He just stared blankly at his sandwich though not answering. He hadn't spoken about his father in quite a while. She noticed the obvious silence and the sadness in his eyes . "If this makes you uncomfortable, we can talk about something else." She worried the question might have upset him too much.

"No, it's okay. You answered all my questions and told me about what happened to your family. I don't mind, it just that I haven't talked to anyone about it, except Leah."

Tara sat curling her legs in and wrapping her arms around her knees, waiting patiently for him to speak. Seth paused, taking a few sips of his soda before he spoke. "My dad had a heart attack. The doctors said it was his diet, but I think it was something else that brought it on because….it happened just after he found out about Leah and I… when he found out we were both wolves. I think he was really upset over it and that's what I believe really caused his death."

"You blame _yourself_?" she asked but he didn't reply.

"Seth...look at me," she said. His glossy eyes turned in her direction. Her face was stern. "It's not your fault. It's not something you could control."

"I just… always have. I don't talk about it though, except with Leah. She feels even worse. It's why she's become so protective over me."

Tara kept her gaze focused on him. She liked that Seth confided in her enough to talk about something so personal. She didn't like to see him in pain though. It really bothered her. She felt it was time to put the subject to rest. "So, you haven't always been like this…been able to change?"

"No, I was fifteen when it happened."

Her golden eyes widened with curiosity. "What was it like for you?"

"Scary, at first. I didn't know what was happening to me. I was pretty young for the change to be happening. Leah was already nineteen. Apparently it has something to do with the vampires being here though. It made all of us change."

"All of you?"

"Well, all of us that have the gene for it. After a while I was pretty excited about it. I thought it was cool ya know?"

Tara smiled. "So, how old are you now?"

"Eighteen," he replied.

Her eyebrows rose. "Oh, you're younger than I thought."

"Why, how old did you think I was?"

"Mmm, well I guessed about twenty. You and your friends are all very ...large." Tara was glad to see Seth continued to eat his sandwich.

"Well, I'm the youngest out of the whole pack but... I'm still older than you. You're just a sweet sixteen."

"Uh, wrong..." she rolled her eyes. "I'm _seventy_ remember?"

"That's just a technicality. But in that case, you _do _look great for an old lady," he winked. The comment made her chuckle. "So anyway...where did you learn to surf?" he wondered.

"While I was in Australia."

"_Australia_?" His face was full of surprise. "How did you get _there_?"

"I swam," she said as though it was as common as doing laps in a pool.

"Uh…you _swam_...to _Australia_?"

"Vampires don't tire easily, unless we're weak from not feeding. Nor do we need to breathe... I could literally swim forever if I wanted."

"Wow, even still, it seems like a lot of work. Couldn't you have just did that cloaking-thing and smuggled yourself on a plane?"

"Sure I've done that before but have you ever been to the bottom of the ocean?"

"Um, no."

"Well I have, and it's actually quite spectacular. Nothing like you what you see in pictures. You'd be amazed at what's down there – creatures that never come to the surface."

"Like what, the Loch Ness Monster?" He looked at her completely serious. Tara just laughed hysterically shaking her head. Seth smiled, continuing on with his barrage of questions. "So... you were in hiding in Australia right? Because it's sunny?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Bet the others are jealous that you can go anywhere, huh? I mean, you can feel more normal."

"Well, being invisible doesn't really make me feel normal. It gets very lonely after a while."

"So, can you look human too?" he wondered.

"Of course, anything I want really…human….wolf…." She winked. "I could make you disappear too, or even make you look like a goat if I wanted." She chuckled, thinking about it. "Maybe I'll try it on you sometime, just for fun."

He laughed. "That's neat. I didn't know you could do all that. I'd rather you didn't make me look like a goat though."

She chuckled followed by a sigh. "Oh alright, ruin all my fun then." They both let out a nervous laugh.

"So, why did you hide all the time at the college? I mean if you can look any way you want you can just blend, right?

"Yes, but looking human doesn't change what I am. I'm cold, don't sleep or eat and...I drink blood...I can't mask those things...eventually people would sense the difference. It was easier for me to just hide and never been seen."

Seth thought about it for a moment. "So you've been alone for a long time then...since you left the Volturi?" he asked.

"Yes. You have no idea how happy I was to meet the Cullens. I never would have thought there were Covens such as theirs. Carlisle and Esme are pretty amazing. I feel really lucky to have them take me in like that."

"I'm really glad that they found you too." Seth smiled at her.

Just then, clouds separated, exposing a large patch of blue and the sun broke free from its captivity. Tara's skin glimmered in the sunlight. Her eyes looked even more golden as the sun lit up her face. "Wow," he gasped as he stared at her.

"Oh, yeah .. freaky huh?" she said feeling embarrassed of what he must think of her sparkly appearance.

"No way! That's so cool!"

"Seriously?" she asked with a smirk. Her tone sounded unbelieving.

"Yeah. Totally!" He studied her curiously, wanting to touch her skin. "Um, may I?" he asked nervously as he slowly reached his hand up to touch her face.

Tara nodded silently allowing him to touch her face. His fingers moved along her shimmering cheek. It was cold and smooth like a stone. She closed her eyes, taking pleasure in feeling of his warm skin against hers. His burning touch, triggering a sensation that made her nervous. She clenched her fists, staying perfectly still. "You're hands are so warm," she exhaled in a whisper.

"Is it uncomfortable when I touch you?" he asked, noticing how tense she seemed.

"No. That's not exactly how I'd describe it."

"How _would_ you describe it then?"

"Mmm, it's more like a static current." She felt the hairs on the back of her neck, stand straight up.

He pulled his hand away. "That doesn't sound pleasant."

She opened her eyes. "You'd be surprised at what I find pleasurable."

He smiled. "Are you trying to freak me out?"

"No, it's true. But I _am _a freak," she winked.

He chuckled. "Well, aren't we all? I mean, none of us are exactly _normal_."

"Well to be honest, I like being around you because you make me feel more, _normal_. I think you're fun to be around. I can't even remember the last time I laughed before I met you. Thank you for that."

"You're welcome." He stared at her longingly. He desired more than anything to kiss her but the fear of how she might react stopped him.

"I wish…" she stopped mid-sentence looking away.

"What?" he wondered.

"Nothing." She shook her head.

"Now you've got me curious. Please tell me what you're thinking."

"I just wish I wasn't... what I am. It doesn't matter though. There's no changing things now."

"Well, other than the obvious, is there some other reason you're thinking that?" he pried.

"I guess…it would just be nice not to have certain, _limitations_."

Seth tried to interpret her cryptic answer. It wasn't quite what he was hoping for but it seemed like a subtle hint. "You know, if you weren't a vampire, I would have never known you. I mean technically you shouldn't exist right? So, that's a positive way to look at it anyway."

She smiled. "Yes. I am glad I met you."

"Me too." He smiled back, thinking about reaching for her hand when his plan was interrupted Jacob and Renesmee.

"Hi guys!" Renesmee said with a pleasant tone as her and Jacob walked over.

"Late much?" Jacob said to Seth.

"I'm so glad you came." Renesmee plopped herself down next to Tara and hugged her. "So what'dya think of our beach?" she asked.

"It's great... I love the ocean. I never tire of it."

Jacob already began rummaging through the cooler. He pulled out a couple peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for himself and an egg salad sandwich for Renesmee who made a scrunched up face at her food when he handed it to her. It wasn't a grisly for sure. "Eat," he ordered. "You need the energy." Then he grabbed a large blanket and wrapped it around her body for warmth.

Tara observed how Jacob always cared for her. At first she watched Renesmee pick the pieces of egg out of her sandwich, eating only the whites. Then she shifted her attention to the ocean watching the waves crashing on the shoreline, silently hoping Seth would take her out to the water soon. She no longer wished to spend time near the forest, sensing one of the wolves had moved in closer. It made her uncomfortable.

"Hey Ness...you mind if Tara uses your board?" Seth said as he stood up, brushing the sand from his shorts.

"Not at all. You guys gonna head out there?"

"Yup." Seth stretched his hand to Tara. She paused at first then put her hand in his palm and she felt him pulling her to her feet. "Ready?" he asked giving her hand a squeeze.

"Yes, " She replied but forgot to let go of his hands as he tried to move.

"Uh, I kind need those." He chuckled.

"Sorry." She said nervously and released him.

Then Seth pulled off his shirt and removed his shoes before grabbing his board and walked with her into the crashing waves to paddle out. They both disappeared into the water for a long while.

Leah, Quil and Embry became very hungry as they waited and watched, guarding their territory. Finally they emerged from the forest, unable to resist the temptation to grab some food from the coolers. They sat with Jacob and Renesmee while eating and monitored the situation still. Everything seemed to be going quite smoothly until suddenly something caught Leah's attention out in the water. "What the hell?" she blurted as she looked out at the water's edge. They all jerked their heads around to see what the commotion was about.

"Something's wrong!" Jacob shouted as they all turned and saw Tara pulling Seth's limp body from the water.

"Seth!" Leah shouted just before she started running towards them. Jacob chased her and the others followed.

"I _knew_ bringing her here was a bad idea!" Leah snarled.

Jacob crouched over Seth. Blood streamed down his face. "What happened?" He examined Seth's body while trying to keep Leah back.

"His board pearled and he went under. He hit his head on the reef." Tara explained.

Renesmee and Leah gasped when they saw the gaping wound on his forehead near his hair line.

"Seth! Hey Seth can you hear me?" Jacob tapped at his face with the back of his hand. He seemed unresponsive.

Tara knelt next to him. The red fluid dripped down his face and into the sand. Though she heard Seth's heart beating, she didn't hear him taking any breaths. As soon as she tried leaning in close to his mouth to check his airway, Leah lunged at her and tried shoved her back.

"Hey!" Tara hissed at her.

"Back off, bloodsucker! This isn't meal time for you!" Leah snarled as she hovered over her brother.

Tara became furious. "He's not breathing you idiot! You gonna start CPR or would you like to let the brain damage to set in first?" She hissed.

They all looked at each other, not moving. Tara growled and let out a huff. She inched closer Seth's body and shoved Leah back. Leah started to lunge again when Jacob grabbed her and stopped her.

"Wait," he told her, holding up his arm to keep her back.

Tara gently lifted Seth's neck and put her ear to his mouth. Nothing.

She turned her face and carefully pressed her mouth to his blowing a breath of air into his lungs. She stopped and listened again. Still nothing. As she began to blow another breath of air into his lungs, Seth's arms reached his arms around her body and held his mouth against hers. Her eyes opened wide as she realized she'd been tricked. She shoved him breaking his grip on her and he let out a laugh.

"Ugh!" Tara blurted aloud. She balled her hand into a fist and punched Seth in the sternum but only hard enough to knock the wind out of him.

"Agh!" Seth gasped, grabbing his stomach and rolling over on his side. "I can't breathe!" He winced in a raspy voice.

"Good!" Tara huffed as she stood up and walked back to where her things were.

"Tsk!" Renesmee blurted out rolling her eyes. Then she followed after Tara.

"Smooth move dude," Jacob said grinning at him, helping him to his feet.

"Yeah man, what were you thinking? Why'd you go and kiss her like that? You're lucky she didn't bite your face off," Quil said.

Seth could barely speak. He stood hunched over, his hands on his knees gasping for air. "What?... All I know is I come-to and I have a girl pressing her lips to mine."

"No, a _vampire_. You had a vampire on your lips." Leah corrected him.

"Ick!" Quil blurted out.

"Hey shut up already." Jacob spat. His attachment to Renesmee made him more sensitive to the vampire comments.

Once Seth came to his senses, he looked for Tara and spotted her near the tree line grabbing her bag. He dashed after her before she could get out of his sight. "Tara wait….Come on please," he pleaded, following her.

She considered running off, but figured he'd still follow. Seth reached for her arm to get her attention but she pulled it away. She finally stopped and turned to face him with a scowl.

"Don't be mad. I'm sorry. I don't know what happened back there." His head was still spinning and he stumbled trying to catch up with her. Tara grabbed him quickly to help him get his balance back.

She could no longer avoid looking him in the eye. Taking a deep breath to calm herself first, she finally spoke up. "Seth… tell me. Are you… _insane_?" Her eyes became narrow as she spoke in a cool tone.

"Well that would certainly explain a lot," he mumbled to himself.

"_What_?" she snapped back.

"Nothing," he shook his head. "No I'm not insane, though I know I have been acting pretty crazy."

"Yeah, ya think?" Tara waved her arms in the air in frustration. "Do you have any idea what kind of situation you put me in back there? I mean seriously thought you drowned and then you go and pull a stunt like _that_ on me?"

Seth' eyes widened when he suddenly noticed the blood all over Tara's hands. He hadn't realized his head was cut open. "W-why are you covered in blood?" he froze.

"You hit your head stupid." Tara reminded him.

He felt the stinging now. His hand touched his forehead feeling the oozing wetness that seeped from his wound. Then he pulled his hand back, seeing the bright red blood on his fingers. He quickly tried rubbing it on his shorts realizing that the smell must be driving her crazy. "_Shoot!_ I didn't know. I'm so sorry."

"You apologize an awful lot you know." She put her hand on her hip.

"Yeah, I seem to be screwing up a lot around you." He looked at her with his big brown eyes, hoping to gain some sympathy.

She spotted a tiny piece of coral still stuck in his head that needed to be removed. "Don't move." She ordered.

He stood still as she stepped closer to him and slid one hand behind his neck so he couldn't run, then she reached up with her other hand and pinched the coral with her petite fingers and pulled it out.

"Ow!" Seth howled.

She held it up to his face so he could see what it was she pulled out. He barely saw the tiny rock covered in his blood. She dropped it to the ground. Then unzipped her backpack and pulled out a towel. "Here - and you should probably get Carlisle to look at that," she said tossing it at him.

"Thanks," Seth said, pressing the towel to his head. "No need for that though. I'm a fast healer."

"If you say so." She shrugged. "Well I should go. I think I've had enough excitement for today." She said coldly then started to turn towards the road to head back. Seth reached for her arm and grabbed it this time. His hand nearly set her arm a blaze. It started her and she turned.

"Wait, at least let me take you back to Forks. Don't run off… please?" Seth warmed her over with his eyes again.

Tara frowned at him trying to decide if she should let him. She finally caved. "Fine," she sighed and she began to walk back towards his bike.

"Isn't the blood bothering you at all? You seem pretty impassive. I'm impressed," he said, while keeping up with her.

"No it's not too bad. Though human blood is very appealing, I've worked on desensitizing myself to it over the years. _You're_ blood however… it doesn't seem to bother me."

"Why's that?" Seth asked almost hurt.

"It just smells… _different_. I don't know how else to describe the scent really, and no offense or anything but, your blood is more like vampire repellant."

"Oh…great." Seth wasn't sure if he should feel insulted or relieved by her remark. It was certainly for the best that she didn't desire to drink his blood but he didn't like the idea that anything about him repelled her.

"You sure you're okay to drive?" she asked when they got to his bike. "Perhaps I should drive you," she suggested.

"Nope perfectly fine," he said pulling the towel away. "See? The bleeding has stopped." She pouted, watching him climb on his bike. "Hey you know, I think we're even now," he said.

"Oh no…." she huffed climbing on the back of the bike. "You still _owe_ me."

When they pulled into the Cullen's driveway, Tara hopped off. Seth shut the engine down hoping to talk to her but Tara just started to walk towards the house without saying anything. "Hey wait! Am I forgiven yet?" He took off his helmet and jumped off the bike chasing her.

Tara stopped and twirled around on one heel and started to stroll back towards him. She gave him a cooked grin and sighed. "Well I suppose I shouldn't hold a grudge, you did smack your head pretty good out there. I'm sure it must have been what impaired your sense of rational."

"Ah no, I don't think so."

"Well why the heck did you kiss me then?" she said in an irritated tone.

"All I remember is, I was on my board and then the next thing I know you had your mouth on mine. I thought it was a dream or something."

"You thought you dreamt of kissing me?"

"Y-yeah, guess so," he admitted shyly.

"Well you scared the hell out of me. You stopped breathing and it certainly didn't look like your friends were about to save you."

He chuckled. "Yeah well I think even _they_ have their limits. Where did you even learn to do CPR anyways?"

"I sat in a lot of classes at the college, just observing…. and I also catch a lot of TV when I'm bored. Baywatch was one of my favorite shows.

"Oh yeah…great, cause TV is a really credible tool for learning life saving techniques," he joked.

"Hey_!_ I think I did pretty good, next time I'll probably just let you drowned!" she swatted him.

He ignored the stinging sensation where her palm impacted his skin. "Next time? Does that mean we still get to hang out?"

"Mmm... I dunno, you sure that's a good idea? Your friends seemed to think I was gonna have you for lunch out there. Aren't you worried?"

"Uh nope…I believe you said I smelled like …uh, what was it again? Oh yeah, _vampire repellant._" Seth placed a lot of emphasis on the last two words.

She shook her head. "Gosh, you say that like you're insulted or something. Honestly it's for the best. I certainly wouldn't want to be worried about wanting to bite you all the time. I mean I suppose if I was hungry enough I'd eat you. Does that make you happy?"

"Ah no, but I think I see your point, biting me would not be good, your venom is deadly to us."

"It is?" she gasped.

"Yup, deadly once it reaches the heart."

The corners of her mouth turned down. "Seth, you should have told me! I wouldn't have done that today if I had known….. I could have killed you!"

"Well apparently ingesting it isn't dangerous. I'm still alive."

"You're just lucky." She frowned. It pained her to think she could have hurt Seth or worse…killed him.

"Was it so horrible…kissing me?" he asked.

"Well, no I wouldn't say it was… horrible…interesting maybe. I just wasn't expecting it at all. I thought I was saving your life."

"Sorry. I promise not to scare you again but thanks for caring about me."

Tara just shook her head. "Just try to watch what you're doing next time," she warned. Then she looked at up at the spot on Seth's head where he'd hit it. She reached her hand to his cheek and turned it so she could see the spot where the gash had been. The wound was completely healed. Only a small, hint of a scar was left with a little bit of dried blood covering the area. "_Oh_, you really _do _heal fast," she said reaching up to touch it rubbing some of the dried blood away and exposing the fresh pink scar. She gently traced it with her fingertips.

The cool touch of her skin gave Seth goose-bumps. His eyes closed for a moment as he slowly, exhaled. His heart beat began to speed up. When he opened his eyes, he looked right at her face, focusing on her lips thinking about his next move. As she ran her fingers along his temple, he reached up and placed his hand over hers, holding it. There was a silent moment between them when their eyes met. Still holding her hand in his, he inched forward and reached his other hand up to her face and then slowly leaned into her lips.

Tara stood perfectly still, lowering her eye lids as he got closer until he was kissing her. His lips were pleasantly warm to her and very soft. She could hear the sound of his heart like it was trying to break out of his chest and she found herself fighting back a strong craving. Within seconds she became nervous and leaped away, looking him in the eyes with a rigid stare.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yes."

"You look terrified. You're all like...tensed up. Are you nervous?"

"Sort of…you did it again."

"What?"

"You _kissed_ me again."

"I know…I meant to this time though. I'm sorry if it startled you." Tara's stare fixated on Seth. It worried him. "Tara, you look frightened." He placed his hand on her shoulder. "I _swear_ I would never hurt you. You know that, right?"

"Of course." She still stood frozen.

"What's wrong then?" he asked, inching closer to her.

"I'm not scared of you…," she paused. "I'm scared of …me."

"Huh, why? I thought you said my blood doesn't bother you."

"It doesn't…..I don't want your blood." Her eyes were wide and dark. She displayed look he hadn't seen before, as if she was restraining herself.

"I'm not sure I understand." He stepped closer to her and took her hand in his, then reached up to touch her face with his other hand and stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers caressing her cool skin.

She closed her eyes. The feel of his hot skin on hers was surprisingly pleasing to her. She tensed up again and squeezed his hand tightly.

"Ow…ow…OW! Tara! You're crushing my hand."

She shoved him back, scared that she might hurt him but that's not how he interpreted her reaction. He stumbled catching his balance. Her black eyes pierced right through him.

"I have to go. ..inside….right now," she said coldly. She turned quickly and zipped in the house.

Seth sighed as he watched disappear. He looked at his aching hand and rubbed it. _"Nice going dumbass,_" he thought.

Then he stomped over to his bike and threw his leg over, hopping on. He sat for a moment, staring blankly, deep in thought, toiling over what happened. He realized that he probably ruined his last chance to confess his feelings to Tara. He didn't get the reaction he'd hoped for from her. After taking one more look at the house, he put his helmet on and sped off.

Tara stood at the door, looking out the stained glass window watching as he drove away. Suddenly she noticed the voices that came from behind her. She wasn't alone.

The voices quickly came to a halt and she nervously turned to see who was there. All of the Cullens stood there staring at her, including two new faces. The expressions on their faces changed when they instantly saw the blood all over her hands.

"_Oh crap_." she thought. "_This looks pretty bad right now,"_ she realized. She'd come back from her first visit to La Push with blood on her hands. Not good.

Esme gasped.

"Tara, what happened?" Carlisle asked, immediately worried.

"It's nothing. Seth had a little accident."

Suddenly they realized the blood stunk of dog. It had no appeal to them. Their tensions relaxed, though they curiously wondered what happened still.

"Is he alright?" Esme asked. She adored Seth and hoped no serious harm came to him.

"Yes, yes he's fine now. He just hit his head on some coral. I had to pull a piece out and that's how I got blood on me. He's okay though…he even escorted me home." She explained, leaving out several details. She couldn't stop the recent events from racing through her head though. Then she glanced over at Edward, realizing he was probably listening the whole time. It was suddenly obvious from the look on his face. _"Great._" she thought and hoped Edward wasn't going to say anything.

Emmett spoke up suddenly. "So are ya switchin' sides on us or what?" he asked Tara.

"_Oh no_!" Tara thought, wondering if they saw the whole event outside. "Um…excuse me?" she mumbled in confusion.

Esme realized they hadn't been properly introduced just yet and spoke up. "Tara I'd like you to meet two other members of our family. This is Rosalie and Emmet,." she said. They had both just returned from a long trip to Kodiak Island in Alaska, where the bear population is at an historic high. They also just finished their second year of college.

Emmett threw his hand up and gave her a short wave of his fingers accompanied by a friendly smile. "Hey I'm just kiddin'. The others were telling us you got to go to La Push today. So what was that like?"

"_Whew,_" she felt relieved. Everyone waited for her to say something. "Oh, well uh… it was interesting, to say the least." She stumbled over her words nervously.

Rosalie's expression didn't change. The idea of mingling with wolves still seemed revolting to her. She tolerated Renesmee's relationship with Jacob but she had no love for the wolves still and didn't like the idea of collaborating or socializing without good reason, or force. When Tara spotted the displeasing look on her face she knew. Even through her grimace Rosalie was even prettier than she expected she thought. Rosalie reminded her of a movie star.

"You're back earlier than we expected. Where's Ness?" Esme asked.

"Still there. I uh… didn't want to hang out anymore," she lied.

"Couldn't stand the smell huh?" Emmett asked.

"Yeah….wet dog." she chuckled, playing it off. The others laughed. Tara had very little to talk about at the moment. She politely sat and listened to the Emmett and Rosalie as they returned to their conversation they were having about school and their trip with the other. Tara hoped the distraction of them being there would keep them from asking her any more questions.

Before long, Jacob and Renesmee returned to the house. Jacob made sure to bring Renesmee back early enough to spend him with Rosalie and Emmett before she was too wore out from the day. He was almost too late as she'd fallen asleep in the car on the way back. H opened the door to his Volkswagen and softly rubbed her arm to wake her. "Come on sleepyhead. The blonde ice-queen is waiting for you."

Renesmee opened her eyes to Jacob's smiling face. He swept the long curls that fell in front of her face with his fingers. Her face lit up when she realized she was home.

As they came through the door, Renesmee squealed with excitement seeing Emmett and Rosalie, and ran over to give each of them a hug. Emmett lifted her off the ground with a giant bear hug.

"Aunt Rose! Uncle Emmett! How's school and the bears_?"_ she asked once he put her down.

"It was quite an adventure. Still got your puppy I see. Is he housebroken yet?" Rosalie snickered.

Jacob interrupted before she could reply. "Hey Rosalie... know what the blond said after she finished college?" She ignored him as usual but Jacob continued on with the punch line. "Will that be paper or plastic?"

Rosalie hissed. "Don't you have some escaped convicts you should be searching for, _dog_?" she snapped.

"Nope," he said popping his P on the end. "I'm not a bloodhound."

Tara felt glad she wasn't Jacob's target for the moment. She had too much on her mind to get into a battle of wits with him right then.

"I've _missed _you Rosalie, I've got a _ton_ of jokes I've been saving for your visit," Jacob said, provoking her.

Renesmee rolled her eyes at the two of them, but when she saw Tara staring out the window in a fog she focused her attention on her. She walked over and poked Tara's arm. "Hey are you still upset? You don't look right."

"Upset? About what?" Rosalie instantly became nosey.

"Seth nearly drowned and Tara gave him mouth to mouth. Then he kissed her and she hauled off and punched him. It was comical," Jacob said chucking.

Tara scowled gave him the, "_shut the hell up"_ look. She wanted to turn invisible now.

"Ha! Really?" Emmett chuckled. "You didn't tell us about that part. Is that when he hit his head or did you help him hit it on the coral?"

"Uh gross! You should have ripped the little fleabag's face off!" Rosalie sneered.

The others knew Seth had a playful side to him but they were surprised he'd be brave enough to attempt to kiss a vampire, even as a joke. It seemed a little odd, even for him. Carlisle seemed pleased that Tara had been a good sport about it. He knew it could have ended violently, even if it was a playful gesture.

Jasper also seemed impressed by her self-control, but as he hovered her he sensed an unexpected emotion from Tara. Glancing at Edward, he wondered if he was right about his intuitions.

"Nah you wouldn't do anything to your _buddy_ like that, huh Tara?" Jacob said.

He and Renesmee seemed to be the only ones not entirely disturbed by the event.

"Oh? Are you so sure Jake? I seem to recall you examining him for bite marks when I pulled him out of the water," Tara argued.

"Well, I had to be sure. Just doing my job." he shrugged. "I thought all that blood might be too tempting for you."

"_Ick!_ I'm sure Tara has better taste than that!" Alice perked up.

"Well, it seems you handled the situation quite well Tara," Carlisle commented. Though he would never wish any harm to come to Seth, he felt the accident was a fortunate event for them. The new vampire not only made a save, she ignored a bleeding head injury. He saw it as a good move on her part and hoped it reinforced the Pack's feelings about his family and their values.

Tara wanted nothing more than to hide at the moment. She couldn't stop thinking about the warm sting that still lingered on her lips from Seth's kiss, nor could she ignore the fact that she enjoyed it. That part worried her the most.

"Why would Seth even _do _something like that?" Alice questioned.

"Uh who knows…. maybe the lack of oxygen got to him. I think he was already low on some brain cells anyway," Jacob said jokingly, trying to divert the issue.

Everyone laughed except Rosalie who took the situation more seriously than the others. Jacob fixed his eyes on her. "Hey Rosalie, know how to make a make a blond laugh on Saturday?" Rosalie stood with her arms folded, gritting her teeth together. "...tell her a joke on Wednesday." He finished.

Emmett tried to hide his smile. He got a kick out of Jacob whenever he provoked Rose. She only behaved herself for the sake of her niece but her patience with Jacob grew thinner. Emmett and Jasper had a bet on when she would finally snap. "Hey, maybe Seth has crush on our new vampire," he said jokingly.

"What? That's absurd! He really _does_ have brain damage if that's true," Rosalie said.

"Or a death wish," Alice added.

"Well I always suspected he seems to like vampires too much. What do you think Tara?" Emmett asked.

Everyone stared at her waiting for an answer. It made Tara uneasy. Though they all seemed to accept Seth as a friend, she didn't think they would find it feasible for a vampire to respond kindly to his bizarre display of affection. The conversation was starting be too much for her. "I think he's definitely got a death wish. If I knew he was going to pull that kind of stunt would have let the stupid dog drowned," she retorted in a nasty tone.

Edward knew she was lying but the others laughed. Jacob looked at Tara, square in the face. He took her words very seriously. Tara wondered if it was for the best. What could possibly become of them anyway, she wondered. Wolves and vampires don't mix well. It was a foolish thought, or at least that's what she tried to convince herself. "Well if you'll all excuse me, I'd really like to shower and get this smell off me." Tara excused herself, eager to leave the room.

As she departed, everyone turned their attention back to Rosalie and Emmett, except for Edward and Bella whose eyes, bore into her back as she walked away. Before she made it the shower, Bella stopped her. "Are you okay Tara?" she asked.

Tara stopped and turned to face her. "I-I truly don't know Bella." She said quietly.

"Tell me then, I might understand," she said as she put her hand on her shoulder.

"When you and Edward were together, when you were human...you two had a ..um…_physical_ relationship?" she wondered.

"Uh… _yeah_…we had a baby together," she said rolling her eyes.

"Oh..right." Tara felt foolish for forgetting. It was just something that seemed so unreal to her. "So then, it's possible?"

"Tara…do you have feelings for Seth?" Bella asked.

She nodded. "But I shouldn't. It's all wrong."

"Does your mind tell you it's wrong, or your heart?"

Tara grimaced. "I have no heart."

"Course you do. If you have feelings, you have a heart. Just because it stopped beating doesn't mean you don't have one. Do what your _heart_ tells you. Don't worry about what the others might think."

Tara exhaled and smiled. "Don't tell them though, please?"

"I won't."

"Edward already knows though, doesn't he?"

"Yes, probably more than you think." Tara's eyes widened. "Don't worry, he won't say anything either. He's been keeping this secret for a while now. It makes him nervous though. He's noticed the way you look at Seth. It reminds him of when he was falling for me when I was a human. He just has concerns, having experienced it before. That's why I wanted to talk to you."

"Yeah, it kinda frightens me too. I don't know how this works."

"Don't worry, it will work itself out. Trust me."

"Thanks Bella."

"Welcome." She hugged her and then zipped off to be with the family before she was missed.

Tara threw her backpack on the floor of the bathroom and jumped in the shower. As she undressed, the sand fell from her clothes into the basin. She shoved them into her bag so she could wash them later then pulled curtain and turned on the water. Tara stood there for a while allowing the water to beat on her head. Seth's blood ran down her leg and washed away into the drain as she stood in the stream. She closed her eyes and when she did, she kept seeing him leaning in to kiss her. The image ran through her head over and over. After a few minutes, new images ran through her head, ones that hadn't happened but she was imagining they would. She turned the water to the coldest setting.

_"Damn! Wish that worked"_, she thought.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: The Imprint**

Tara didn't hear from Seth for a week after the beach incident. Each time Jacob came over to visit Renesmee, he coldly told her Seth was busy and didn't have time to come with them. Seth made no effort to call and explain his absence either. She hunted alone thinking he'd come see her, but he never did. The taste of his lips against hers still burned in her memory and she ached to feel the warmth of his skin against hers.

As the week came to an end, she hoped Seth would come by with Jacob, knowing Renesmee had plans with him. Her heart leaped with delight when she heard the purr of a motorcycle engine coming up the street. Trying not to give herself away, she casually crept down the stairs to see who arrived. Jacob walked through the door greeting Renesmee with big bear hug, lifting her off the ground.

Tara waited.

She heard no other engine sounds. No one else came through the door. He came alone.

Since the clouds moved out again, Jacob decided to take his motorcycle out for a drive instead of the Volkswagen. He still owned the motorcycle he'd build with Bella after Edward left her. He didn't ride it often, but today he decided to take Renesmee for a ride on it. It felt like a cruel joke to Tara. She slowly turned and headed back up the stairs. Jacob and Renesmee both spotted her before she could slip away unnoticed.

"Hey Morticia," Jacob said in his usual teasing manner. Tara didn't even flinch, she only kept walking.

Renesmee hated to see her this way. "What's with the bike Jake?" she asked.

He shrugged. "It's a nice day…I wanted to take you for a ride."

She stood with her arms folded, staring at Jacob with an unconvinced look.

"What?"

"You know what. You know exactly what she came down here looking for. Why doesn't Seth just talk to her?" Renesmee whispered.

Tara froze when she heard his name mentioned. Her vampire ears listened. She wanted to know the real reason why he wasn't coming around.

"I told you… he's says he's not coming over anymore."

"Well he should have just told her about the imprinting. This is stupid, now it's all a mess."

There's nothing more he can do Ness. He says things didn't turn out the way he'd hoped. Now he's just trying to stay away and do whatever he can to forget all this."

"You know he'll never forget. And she obviously misses him, you can tell. She's not the same anymore."

"Hmph! Coulda fooled me," he snorted.

"She says one thing but I can I see something else in her eyes."

"_Imprint? What imprint_?" Tara thought. It started to make more sense to her now, why he stopped coming by, why he was too busy. She didn't understand why he didn't tell her though, wondering if he really cared so little that he couldn't just tell her to her face.

Tara dashed out the bedroom window and headed for the auto shop, hoping he would be there. So many new emotions went through her mind as she ran - anger and sadness being the strongest. She felt a new emotion she never knew before now - jealousy.

Tara remembered her way to the tiny auto body shop in town. Seth drove her past it on her first motorcycle trip with him, the day he returned her locket to her.

The sign out front read **Big-Dogs Automotive Repair**. The first time Tara read it, she laughed out loud. It was the first time she laughed in many years. It was actually Renesmee who came up with the idea for the name and it was just so comical and befitting that they agreed to use it. Tara even jokingly made the suggestion to Seth that they add the phrase "We Lycan Your Business" under the name. He was completely amused by her humor. This time however, she wasn't laughing when she got there.

Seth lay under an old blue Chevy, working. The radio on the counter was blared loud rock music, drowning out any noises. Tara slipped in unnoticed. She scanned the room for the source of the noise so she could turn it off. When she found it, she yanked the power cord from the outlet. The sudden silence startled Seth and he rammed his head on the bottom of the car. Tara heard a loud clang just before he shouted several profanities. Then he came out from under the car, rubbing his head. "Hey," he said, completely caught off guard when he saw Tara standing there.

"Where have you been?" she demanded to know.

"Working," he lied. "I have a lot going on." He busily fiddled with the tools in his hand, tryin not to make eye contact.

"It's a Saturday. Jacob's not even working today. He's taking Renesmee to a movie."

"Yeah? Well that sounds great. Maybe you should go with them," he said coldly.

She frowned. "You haven't been around at all since my trip to La Push. Jacob says you're always too busy."

He turned his head and looked for a towel to rub the grease off his hands. "I didn't think you noticed," he shrugged

"Well I _did,_" she snapped.

Snapping back he quickly turned to confront her. "_Look,_ you just seemed pretty upset with me for what I did and I _know_ I did some foolish things which I have profusely apologized for but when you pushed me away I felt like you just didn't want me there and Jacob even confirmed that you weren't too thrilled about saving me either. I just thought it was best if I didn't come around anymore."

"Is that _all_?" she scowled, standing with her arms folded. "That's your _only_ reason?" she questioned.

He scrunched his eyebrows and threw his hands up. "You want a _better_ excuse?" he snapped.

"I think you have one." Her eyes darted at him.

He sighed rolling his eyes. "And what's _that_?"

"You imprinted," she said, watching his reaction.

Seth's mouth gaped open. "Wh-who told you that?"

"I overheard Jacob and Ness talking about it," she confessed.

"_Big Mouth_!" Seth thought.

"I don't like being lied to," she said bitterly.

"I'm sorry. I tried many times to say something but I couldn't get the words out."

"So when did this happen?"

"The day you came to Forks," he admitted.

Tara fumed now. She dropped her arms, balling her hands into fists. "Then why the heck did you start hanging out with me and pretending to be my friend? What was all _that_ about?"

He inched closer to her. "What do you mean _pretending_? I wasn't pretending. I was trying to get to know you. What else was I supposed to do?"

"Oh, I dunno, maybe go spend your time with whomever it was you imprinted on instead of misleading me into thinking you actually cared about me in some way." She huffed. "I mean… I don't know why I even care anyway! This is so _stupid_. I don't know what I'm doing here!" She turned to leave.

"H-hold on. What_?_ Tara…_who_ do you think I imprinted on?"

She stopped before she got to her exit but didn't turn around. "How should I know _that_?" she grumbled.

"Because I thought you figured it out." He inched even closer towards her. "Wait...do mean you have feelings for me?"

She snapped around. "What does _that_ matter?"

"It matters to me. I need to know." He stared at her straight in the eyes.

"_How can he be so cruel_?" She thought."Well what do you think? I'm a vampire I'm not supposed to _feel_ anything about you. You're all wrong for me," she lied.

That hurt. It was the answer he feared. "That's it? That's how you _really _feel?"

"Yes, that's how I feel, because that's how I _should _feel. I was foolish for letting you get so close to me. I should have known better… we shouldn't even be friends."

He stepped even closer hovering over her putting his hands on her arms and stared into her eyes looking very serious. "I didn't ask you how you _think_ you should feel. I wanna know how you _really_ feel. I wanna hear from Tara, not the vampire. What does Tara want?"

Her eyes softened. "She… she wants her friend back. She misses him... a lot."

"Is there more?" he pried but she pulled away.

"I'm not playing this game of yours anymore. This really hurts and … I don't even know why. I just wish I hadn't come here now." She broke free from his grip and started to turn.

"Ugh, Tara... _WAIT!_ This is so frustrating. Don't you _get _it? It's you!"

"What do you mean it's _me_?"

"I mean, you're the one I imprinted on. There's no one else."

She shook her head. "But that's not even possible."

"Why not?"

"Because it's _not_...because wolves don't imprint on vampires. That's just crazy."

"Well, Jake imprinted on Ness. So apparently it _is_ possible."

"She's half human though."

"But she's also half vampire. We have no control over it, it just happens…and from the moment I saw you I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. I don't know how to explain it, but it's happened, and it's _you_. I know it's crazy but I don't even care. You're all I want now. This is how I've felt since the day I met you and it's been nearly impossible to control my feelings for you. I just had no idea how you'd react so….I thought I'd just see how you react to being my friend first, but then I just couldn't take it any longer. The day at the beach, I wanted to tell you so badly. The words were right there but they didn't come out and I just ended up kissing you." He confessed finally but Tara just stood there, unresponsive. Her silence seemed to confirm his suspicions. He felt rejected and let go of her. "I think I have my answer though and I'm really sorry, I never meant to force this on you in anyway. I knew you've been given a life you didn't choose and you were forced to be something you didn't want. I didn't want to do that to you, which is why I just stopped coming around and..."

"Seth!" she cut him off.

"What...?"

"_Shut up_!" she ordered. He just looked at her stunned. She gently reached for his hand and caressed it. "I _want_ this….I want you."

"Y-you do?" His heart leaped.

"Yes, you have no idea. I felt myself being more and more drawn to you each day. None of it made any sense to me. I think you're the sweetest, kindest creature I've ever encountered..," she paused, "but….."

"But, what?"

"But, I just don't see how this can be real…. We can't possibly be meant for each other."

"There's no mistake. I told you I can't explain it but it is real. I've already toiled with this so I know everything you are thinking. I just decided I'm going to accept it because this is what I want and nothing else matters to me. The only thing that matters is if you accept it too and… I think maybe you have but you're just afraid to admit it."

"Don't you know what I am...what I've done. You're supposed to kill vampires like me not mate with them."

"That's the past, you're different. I can see that. All mankind is capable of killing. Humans kill each other all the time. There are days when I read the news and see that some people that are worse monsters than we are. Everyone has to choose their own path in life, whether it be good or evil. You didn't choose to become a vampire, but you chose live your life apart from the murderers who tried to curse you."

"But what if I'm cursed? What if there's no reprieve for me? You want to be attached to someone like that?"

"You and the Cullens are proof to me that _all_ are capable of rectitude. I don't think there's any way you could be cursed."

Tara stared at him in awe. She stepped closer to him, reaching up with one hand and touching the side of his face. Seth stood extremely still unsure if she was going to attack or be gentle. She ran her cool fingers down the side of his cheek. Her touch was soothing and his shoulders dropped as he relaxed. "I must be out of my mind. If I could sleep, I would think this was only a crazy dream," she smiled.

"I'm pretty sure you're not dreaming," he cocked his head to the side.

She put her hand over his heart, feeling it beat rapidly. He placed his hand over hers and looked in her eyes. "Well if I am… I don't want to wake up," she confessed.

Seth smiled. "I was so worried. I thought you really meant what you said about me not being your kind. I didn't think you'd even be attracted to me because of what I am."

"I am ...extremely. Maybe I shouldn't be but I am. I even tried to convince myself not to care about you but the more I tried, the more I couldn't stop thinking about you. How crazy is that?"

"I'm just glad you feel that way. When you pushed me away after I kissed you, I thought you finally just had it with me. I didn't think you wanted me and I felt so stupid for trying…that's the only reason I didn't come to see you anymore. It would have pained me to see you, knowing I can't be with you."

She shook her head. "No, that wasn't it. I liked it...Too much in fact. I just got nervous and excited all at the same time. I've never been kissed by a human before. It feels like I'm doing something wrong, but that just makes me want it all the more."

He chuckled. "Yeah... I know."

"And you…you're attracted to me, despite what I am?" she asked, hopeful.

He nodded. "Very much."

Her eyes lit up and she smiled. "Did you really mean it when you told me I was... pretty?" she wondered.

He looked at her very seriously. "No," he answered. The corners of her mouth fell. "Not pretty, I think you're _beautiful_."

Her expression changed to relief. He could tell he embarrassed her as she timidly smiled and looked down. He touched her chin and turned her face back to his. "So then, do you think maybe I could kiss you again without you hitting me or running away this time?"

Tara smiled. "I promise I won't."

He cupped her face in his hands, leaned down and softly pressed his mouth to hers. She closed her eyes delighting in the taste of his lips. The heat of his skin stung as he touched her. When they parted, he slid his arms around her and pulled her in tight.

"I've never felt like this before. I don't even know how to describe my feelings for you," she admitted.

"You seem to be doing a good job at showing me right now." He spoke into her hair. Then something on her shoulder caught his eye. Her tank top revealed a scar just inches from the base of her neck by her collar bone. He pulled back, looking at it and touched gently with one finger, circling the spot. "Is this what I think it is?"

Tara knew what he meant. He pointed at the scar on her shoulder. The one she got when she was bitten and turned. "Yes. It's the only scar I have on my entire body and I'll always have it."

Seth leaned over and softly kissed it. "If I could take it away from you, I would," he said.

Tara put her hand over the scar and gave him a disturbing look. "What is it? You have that look on your face again like I hurt you. Does the scar hurt?" He ran his fingertips down the side of her arm. It sent a surge of energy though her body.

"No. It doesn't hurt," she said as she froze.

"Then why do you look like that?"

"Like what?" she wondered.

"Like, you're in _pain _when I touch you."

"You're not hurting me. It's just the opposite actually." She dropped her eyes. "I- I'm not quite sure how to explain without totally embarrassing myself."

"Oh….." Seth thought for a moment and grinned. "So you're saying you _like_ it when I touch you." He continued to caress her arms and let his fingertip trace her body up to her neck and face.

"More than you can imagine." She closed her eyes tilting her head to the side.

His one hand ran through her hair as the other was around her waist pulling her closer. He leaned in and whispered in her ear. "Well I can _imagine _quite a lot."

"Not my way you can't," she grinned.

"_You're way_? And what's that? He leaned back to look at her with curiosity.

"Mmm…..well, vampires are not the gentlest creatures when it comes to….affection."

"Oh, uh…is that's bad?" His eye brows rose.

"It could be for you," she chuckled.

"Don't worry about me, I'm a fast healer," he winked.

"Mmm…you're awful confident."

"Yeah, that's me. I'm a risk taker." He smiled.

She chuckled wanting to kiss him again but held back. Seth, on the other hand, couldn't wait another second. He touched his lips to hers, softly at first but within moments Tara found herself becoming more electrified, pressing her body against his. Seth didn't resist at all. His breathing became heavier as he became aroused by her motions. Suddenly Tara pounced on him like a kitten attacking a grisly - a very strong kitten however. He landed flat on his back as she sprawled on top of him. "Ooof!" he blurted when he landed, banging his head on the ground on impact. "Ow. Ok, that kinda hurt."

She stopped herself quickly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just bumped my head. That was a bit too fast for me."

"I'm sorry, here lemme see." Tara ran her fingers through his hair to feel the lump on the back of his head.

"Does this help?" She gently rubbed it with her cool hands.

"Mmm" He closed his eyes liking it very much. "It's like you have a built in icepack at your fingertips."

She chuckled becoming lost in his stare as she lay there in his embrace, still stroking his head. So this part could be a problem," she sighed.

"We'll figure it out. Like I said…at least I'm a fast healer."

"I wouldn't like it if I hurt you." She frowned.

"I think I can handle and few bumps and bruises. Besides…you know what they say…?"

"What?"

"Practice makes perfect." He grinned.

She sighed. "Your over confidence could be the death of you." She rested her hand on his chest, feeling his heart beating against her palm.

"I don't think you're capable of that."

She just shook her head. Then she started thinking about their other problem. "So, does anyone else know about this?"

"Jacob does and I'm sure he told Ness. And Leah knows too. She and Jake were able to hear my thoughts the night it happened."

"Listen to your thoughts? Like Edward does?" she wondered.

"All the wolves have the ability. We hear only each other's thoughts though."

"_All _of you?" her eye brows rose.

"Well just in our pack, but if we allow it the others can hear too. I've just been avoiding phasing for a while to be on the safe side."

"You probably can't hide this much longer then," she said.

"No. I'm sorta worried about what'll happen when they all find out. What about the Cullens? I wonder what they will think?

"Actually, some of them already know…."

**Forks….**

Seth and Tara went to the Cullen's home together. As they walked in the house, all was quiet except for the sound of a television.

Jacob and Renesmee sat in the theater room along with Emmett and Rosalie, watching a hockey game. Renesmee leaped up running over to greet them as they came in the room. It surprised her to see them together.

"Tara ….Hey! Are you okay? You disappeared."

"Just fine," Tara replied.

Jacob had followed her to check out the situation for himself. "Hey Seth, you finally decided to get out of the garage?" he asked.

"Yeah I needed a break. Almost done with the Chevy... I should have it finished tomorrow."

They all looked at each other suspiciously, not saying anything until Tara finally broke the silence. "Okay, yes I know," she admitted.

Jacob groaned. Then he reached into his pocket and slapped a ten dollar bill into Renesmee's hand. She laughed taking it.

"What's _that_ for?" Seth asked.

"Just _one _more week…. I had ten bucks that said you'd hold out for at least _one_ more week."

"You guys had a _bet_.. on us?" he asked.

"Sure why not. I figured you'd crack sooner or later but the way you were acting I didn't think you'd cave so quickly."

"Well Tara came to _me_," he confessed.

Jacob sighed. "Females!" he rolled his eyes.

"Bet? What bet? What did I miss out on?" Emmett overheard them and invited himself into the conversation. He loved a good bet. Even Rosalie, who wasn't the slightest bit interested a moment ago perked up to listen in on what was going on.

Tara and Seth just looked at each other, unsure of how to explain the situation.

"Seth Imprinted," Renesmee finally said.

"He did? Nice! Who's the lucky girl?" Emmett asked.

Tara gave Renesmee nudge for opening her mouth about it. Rosalie had it figured out immediately. Her angry eyes stared at the two of them.

"What? It's not like you guys were saying anything here," Renesmee pointed out.

"I don't get it," Emmett said looking confused.

Rosalie got up and stomped towards the four of them. "You can't be serious! You wouldn't be that foolish would you?" she said to Seth.

Emmett became alarmed at her reaction and followed behind. "Hey Rose, chill out. What are you so upset about?"

"Can't you see? The _dog_ imprinted on Tara, that's what!" She angrily waved her hands at the couple pointing out that they were obviously together.

Emmett looked at the two of them. "Really? You mean you can _do_ that?"

"Yes…um…apparently," Seth said as he put his hands on Tara's shoulders.

"Wow, and you haven't killed him yet?" Emmett said to Tara, snickering.

"I don't intend on killing him. I'm okay with it."

Rosalie couldn't contain herself any longer. "Well that's just _great_, like we needed another reason to attract the Volturi here! I mean we barely got through the last ordeal, now _this._" Her voice grew louder.

"Uh, well ya know Rose…the law just says we can't tell humans of our existence, it really doesn't say anything about vampire-wolf relationships," Emmett said in their defense. He was amused by the situation and already thinking of some bets he could place with Jasper on their relationship.

Rosalie scowled at him. "Well it doesn't!" he added, shrugging his shoulders.

"I think Emmett's right, they're not breaking any rules and it doesn't matter anyhow, they will never see Tara as long as she's with Seth. Their visions are just as clouded as Alice's when the wolves are around," Renesmee said.

Rosalie didn't accept it though. The thought of a vampire being intimate with a wolf thoroughly disgusted her. She couldn't understand the attraction. It was too unnatural for her. "Well I hope you're right! I mean first it was humans...now dogs! I think this family has too many strikes against it and flaunting this kind of relationship will certainly attract attention."

"Hey, I _am _human." Seth argued. Tara placed her hand on Seth's chest to back him down.

"Rosalie, I swear wouldn't place your family in jeopardy. If I thought there was a chance that my being here would endanger your family I would leave, I swear." Tara promised.

Seth gripped Tara's shoulders tightly. That's not an idea he agreed on.

Rosalie's angry voice carried through the house and grabbed the attention of the others. Carlisle and Esme came in the room followed by Jasper and Alice who were all very curious. "What's the problem?" Carlisle asked.

"Ask the wolf," Rosalie said in a snotty tone pointing at Seth.

Carlisle looked at him. "Seth?"

"Uh, I um…." He gulped. "I imprinted," he paused. They all gawked at him, waiting. "On Tara," he added.

That changed things. Alice and Esme gasped. All of them gaped at the couple with wide eyes and blank faces.

The news astonished Carlisle. "Fascinating. I didn't know this was even possible." He stared at the two of them curiously.

"Neither did I. It just happened the first time we met. That's why I disappeared so quickly that evening. I didn't know what to do. The only one I told was Jacob because I knew he'd understand and I thought maybe he could help me."

"I'm surprised Edward didn't figure this out right away," Carlisle commented.

"Actually he did. He confronted me with a warning but he wanted to respect my personal life. He knew he hadn't spoken to her yet and chose not to reveal it to anyone until I handled it myself."

"I understand, that's very much something he'd do," Carlisle said.

"I'm sorry for hiding this. I thought it was the only way at first. I was hoping I could find out if Tara had any feelings for me at all."

Carlisle looked at Tara. "And are _you_ okay with this?" he asked.

"Yes, it's what I want," she answered.

"You mean you're not mad? You're okay with this too?" Seth said, surprised at Carlisle's calm reaction.

"If this is what you both want, then yes. Who am I to say otherwise? I love you like one of my own Seth. I just want you to be happy, both of you. But I have to throw caution into the wind. You do need to be careful but I'm sure you can make it work. Edward and Bella did just fine."

"Oh yeah, that was a real _blast._ Why don't we just call the Volturi over right now so they can celebrate with us?" Rosalie snapped. Everyone turned in her direction.

"Rose!" Renesmee growled. She didn't like her tone or her comment very much. Rosalie had forgotten she was listening too.

"I'm sorry, I just think this whole thing is going to reflect badly on us."

"Well it can't be any worse than Jacob and I. We both seem to have the same dilemma."

"I don't think this will be of any concern. The Volturi can't see any of us when the wolves are around. They provide protection for all of us in a way. I think Renesmee and Tara will be perfectly guarded from their seeker." Carlisle informed her.

"What about the pack, Seth? Do they know yet?" Esme asked.

"Just Jake and Leah, but I think the others have their suspicious about what's going on. I'll deal with that issue I come to it."

"Yes I think you should stick to the more immediate issues and let us worry about any bigger problems if they arise."

Alice spoke up. "Don't worry, I'll be looking out for you. If the Volturi try to come here, I'll know about it." She seemed less worried about the situation than Rosalie.

"Thanks Alice," Seth said.

"You're welcome. We're all family here aren't we?"

Everyone smiled, with the exception of Rosalie who just rolled her eyes.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Confessions**

"So that went better than I thought. What now?" she said to Seth.

"Now we just…" he shrugged, "…be ourselves."

"You have some confessions to make to some people first I think," she pointed out.

Seth sighed. "Yeah, but I that was the least of my worries. Before, all I cared about was what _you_ thought," he squeezed her hand, "Now that I know, I don't care much about the rest. Let the chips fall where they may."

"Really... that easy? What about the rest of the pack….Sam's pack?"

He shrugged again. "They accepted Renesmee. Why should you be any different?"

"Because I _am_ different Seth, I've killed people. Renesmee is innocent. She's never harmed anyone."

"With the exception of Carlisle, every Cullen has done the same. But, they're all repentant. I won't judge you for what you've done. That's your past. You're not like that anymore."

"Seth… have you ever heard the story of the _Frog and the Scorpion_?"

He thought about it for a moment. "Uh yeah, I think so."

"Well, I'm like the scorpion. Killing is in my nature. Those who chose a vegetarian lifestyle, still crave the flesh because it's what they were born to consume. Not a day goes by that I don't think about feeding on a human. I know it's wrong, and I may not want to be this way, but it's what I am. If you are going to be with me you have to face the fact that there's a chance I may hurt someone someday. It takes all of the strength I have not to, I'm not perfect."

"I understand that, but I trust that you won't. You did it on your own without the Cullen's. You know what's right and you have a good soul….."

"Seth…" She cut him off, shaking her head in disagreement. "I truly don't deserve anyone like you and I'm afraid of disappointing you….or worse, hurting you." Her eyes looked pained

"Tara don't…"

She stopped him again. "It's true. You're a pure spirit. Seriously Seth, what's the worst thing you've ever done in your life, cheated on a test maybe? I can't even compare myself to you."

"Well would it make feel more even if I tell you I've taken lives before?"

"You have?" Her eyebrows rose up.

"Yes. New borns,...vampires. We helped the Cullens kill a bunch of them that were coming here to kill Bella."

That information aroused some curiosity in her. "New-borns that wanted to kill Bella? I hadn't heard that story yet…..but regardless, those aren't even _lives _you took. Their lives were already taken from them. You were only finishing the job."

"They were just as alive as you are. We only had to kill them to keep them from hurting others. It's our job to protect the people here of Forks, that included Bella despite her involvement with the Cullens."

"As you should. It's your job to protect people from the _monsters._"

"Tara,…are you starting to doubt yourself? What's this about?"

"I'm just warning you. I may have abstained for years and learned to live around humans without feeding on them but there _have _been exceptions." She stared at him wondering if he remembered the story she told him.

"The rapist," he said.

She nodded. "I don't know what it was that made me do it. I don't normally engage in human affairs. I thought perhaps it was the smell of the blood soaked rope around her neck that made me lose control but regardless, I didn't resist."

Seth became quiet. "I'm sorry. I've really put this in perspective for you haven't I?"

"It doesn't change how I feel. Are you having second thoughts about us?"

She sighed shaking her head. "Even though I know I'm all wrong for you, I'm a pretty selfish creature. I don't know that I'd even have the will power to leave you… even for the right reasons." She leaned in close to him, reaching her hand up to his face and caressing his cheek, slowly running her hand down the side of his face.

"You know, for the longest time I've wanted nothing more than to end my life. I didn't want to exist this way. But now that I've met you, I want nothing more than to live. You have no idea what you've done for me," she continued.

He smiled. "Then how can I have any regrets? I'm _happy_ being with you. Can you just accept that?"

She smiled and nodded, looking into his eyes. "I _do_ have one request however," he said taking her hand in his.

"What's that?"

"Go on a date with me."

"A… _date_?" Her eyebrows rose.

"Yeah, you know… date."

She looked at him strangely, like it was a foreign word. "Um, haven't you done that before?"

"No, my father never allowed me to date. He was very over-protective."

"You _never _dated?" he said with unbelief.

"No."

"Boyfriends?"

"No, none. I wasn't allowed."

"Wow. Well, I guess I get to be your first. I'd be honored." He looked at her with hopeful eyes.

She smiled, chuckling a little. "Um, so.. what would we do on this…._date_?"

"Anything you want. I have lots of ideas. I already know you like movies. We can do that, or there's a new mini-golf place we can try. It doesn't matter much to me, I just want it to be you know…official_."_

_"_Hmm. I'm not sure I understand the point of it all. Why do you want to entertain me with this human custom?"

"You know how you said I make you feel more normal? Well I just figured you missed out on all these things in your human life so… I just want to try and give some of that back to you. Please?"

An enormous wave of emotion came over Tara. She never experienced love, so it was an emotion she couldn't identify quite yet to be sure, but the feeling nearly knocked her off her feet. She swore she was almost dizzy. She just stared at Seth in a daze.

"What is it? Tell me what you're thinking."

"I'm just trying to absorb all this. I'm feeling emotions I didn't even know existed anymore. This is all new territory for me."

"You like it then? I mean is that something good?"

"It's wonderful, staggering. Better than I can even describe to you."

"Wow… all that from just asking you out on a date? I can't imagine what it will be like when I ask you to marry me some day."

"Uh…" her mouth gaped open.

"Take it easy…." he chuckled, "there's plenty of time before that happens."

"You say that as though it's a matter of fact, not as a, _what if._"

Seth grinned slightly. "Ah, yeah or at least a likely possibility. Is marriage not something you ever envisioned in your future when you were human?"

"I supposed it was at one time, but it certainly wasn't anything I considered once I was turned. I mean seriously do you see me as being a little housewife in an apron cooking dinner or something?"

"I have to admit that is a cute vision, but who says that's what marriage has to be like?"

"Well, isn't it?"

"No, not at all." Just then, Seth realized what time-frame Tara spent her human years in. It made more sense to him why she would see things in that perspective. Tara only remembered women of the fifties being housewives. She didn't pay any attention to modern times and relationships. It was outside of her world.

"Marriage is whatever you make it to be but the way I see it, it's just two people vowing their love for one another before God, or the Great Spirit, or whatever it is you believe in."

"And you need a ceremony for that?"

"Course not, that all just for fun and show." He paused, thinking. "Can I show you something?" She nodded. "Okay, don't go anywhere, I'll be right back," he told her then left for a few moments and returned with a moist washcloth. He reached for her hand taking her palm in his and gently wiped it with the cloth. The towel was already warm from his hands. Seth continued to delicately wipe each finger and he then turned her hand over to wipe the top.

She looked at him with an odd expression. "Were my hands dirty or did you want to just explain the dynamics of a washcloth to me?" she joked.

Seth smiled as he reached for her other hand and repeating the same motions. He spoke softly to her. "You see, when my parents were married, part of their ceremony was a ritual called the _Washing of the Hands_. Our people believe it washes away past evils and bad memories - memories of past loves too." He winked, before continuing on. "Everything is symbolic of course, but it has a deep meaning. It's kinda like baptism, if you're familiar with that custom - baptism for the marriage. You're putting aside all the things in the past and starting a new life with the person you love."

When he finished, he continued to caress her hands softly. Her long and slender fingers felt like silk to him. "So you see? Customs are a good thing. Do you wanna do my hands now?" he smiled, handing her the cloth.

She immersed herself in his gaze as she stared into his soft brown eyes with deepest affection for him. "You have no evil in you to wash away," she said.

He chuckled. "Hmm, well maybe just some bad memories. I certainly have no past loves to wash away…well, at least none that left any _dirt_ behind." He chuckled nervously again. "And I'll never have another, now that I've found the one I want to be with." He looked at her with endearing eyes.

Tara's emotions took over. She became lost in his gaze and her palm opened up letting go of the wash cloth and it fell to the floor. She nearly threw herself at him, pressing her lips to his and gently stroking his cheek with her fingertips. Seth reciprocated quickly and wrapped his arms around her. He embraced her tightly pulling her body into his. Before things got too heated between them, Alice and Jasper walked in the room. "Oops, oh um..…excuse us. We didn't know you guys were in here." Alice smirked at them, slightly embarrassed to catch them in such a private moment.

They pulled away from each other quickly when they heard her voice. "No, uh sorry, we were sort of just talking." Seth tried to explain unconvincingly.

"Yeah… _looks_ that way." Jasper said sarcastically, sensing their emotions.

Alice squeaked as she stifled a laugh. "Well we just came in here to finish our game," she said glancing at the board game laid out on the table. "We can come back later."

"No, that's okay. We were just leaving. Go ahead," Seth said to them.

They stood up getting ready to clear out of the room so she and Jasper could play. "You know you two _do_ kinda make a cute couple," Alice admitted.

Tara smiled. "Thanks Alice. You know Seth just asked me out on a date - our first date and my first date _ever, _actually."

"Really? When?" She perked up, seeing excited about the news.

Tara looked up at Seth for an answer. "Uh, I dunno, um….Saturday?" He hadn't quite thought about which day they'd go but it looked like he had to make some quick decisions.

Tara looked back at Alice. "Saturday then."

"Great! Can I help you get ready?"

"_Oh God_." Tara thought.

"I'll make you look _stunning._ I have the perfect outfit."

"Um…I think we're just doing mini-golf Alice," Tara said.

"Mini-golf? _That's_ where you are taking this girl on her very first date_ EVER_?" she said to Seth rolling her eyes. "How _memorable,_" Alice said with sarcasm.

"Well, mini-golf was just an idea, it's not set in stone or anything," he said trying to defend his idea.

"Okay, well in that case…we have plans to make then," Alice said excitedly.

Seth heard Alice say the word _we_, meaning she just included herself into the planning equation.

"I think this should be special. Ooh, I know maybe the Theater?" she continued.

"A movie was my other idea," Seth said.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Not the movie theaters _Romeo,_ I'm talking about The _Theater_, the Performing Arts. Port Angeles has a beautiful Symphonic Orchestra playing there also."

"Orchestra?" Seth displayed distasteful face. Tara giggled. She'd been to many of such events with her parents growing up.

"Ugh! You're such an un-cultured beast. Seriously, it's a good thing she doesn't eat. You'd probably take her to a drive-through too."

"Hey! I'd at _least_ let her supersize," Seth joked.

They all just gave him an odd stare.

"Umm...never mind, stupid human joke." He shook his head at his failed attempt to be funny.

Alice ignored his bazaar behavior, getting back to business. SO, Saturday, let's say, sixish?" she said looking at the two of them.

"Uh six, sounds good," he shrugged.

"Great, don't be late." She pointed a finger at him like he was a kid.

"No problem Alice. You sure we didn't _forget_ anything while you're planning our date and all?" he grumbled.

"Hmm, I'll let you know, and I'll check on tickets to see what's playing on Saturday in Port Angeles."

"Awesome," Seth said, rolling his eyes. He realized his date just got taken over by the scheming, event-planning vampire.

When Tara and Seth headed out to Seth's bike parked in front of the house he held her hand as they walked. She liked it. "So, you really like that kinda stuff?" he wondered.

"Oh, well my parents took me to the Theater all the time as child. I remember some of them."

"So that would be something you would wanna do then?"

"Well, I love the Theater but I would much rather do something that we will both enjoy. This is _our_ date, not just my date. Mini-golf sounds just wonderful… and I have never been either."

Seth smiled. "Perfect!"

"And the beauty of it all is, we can lie to Alice and she will never be able to see it… thanks to you of course." Tara grinned.

Seth chuckled at her deceitful little plan. "I _love_ the way you think." He kissed her on the forehead.

Tara looked at the sky noticing how late it the day it had gotten. "Don't you need to eat again soon? It'll be dark in a few hours.

"Yeah, my mom's invited Charlie over for dinner I told her I'd drop by."

"Will you tell her?" She looked worried.

Seth nodded. "I want to. I don't like hiding things from her."

"What'll you say?"

"Um…well I was kinda hoping you'd come with me." He gave her another puppy dog expression.

"What? No, I don't think that's a very good idea." She shook her head.

"Why not? She'll wanna meet you."

"Oh I doubt that. I think she'd be pretty unhappy about you bringing a vampire in her home."

"She's been around the Cullen's many times. She's dating Bella's dad, and trust me she knows about that too, even though she's not supposed to. She still pretends to think Bella's a human, for their sake. She's even had Renesmee and Jacob over for dinner before, she adores her. It took some getting used to at first but she's come around."

"Seth, I'm not Renesmee, please get that out of your head."

He sighed. "I know you're not Renesmee…. I know there's a difference."

"Yes I'm the one who …" He put his finger on her lips stopping her from say what he already knew.

"Are you saying if I take you to meet my mom you'd be too tempted?" He removed his finger to let her speak.

"There's always temptation, but to answer your question, _no_. I can resist, I've been doing it for years. I couldn't imagine ever hurting your mother Seth. It makes me ill thinking about it."

"That's why I trust you. I don't believe you would either." She sighed shaking her head.

"Look, I don't have to tell her everything right at first but I want her to meet you at least, I think it will make it easier if she gets to know you," he said. He stared at her with his puppy-dog eyes. "Please?"

She reluctantly hopped on the back of his bike. "I still don't know how I let you talk me into these things."

He smiled then revved up the engine and sped out heading to the Reservation.

They arrived at an oversized trailer sitting in a clearing, deep in the forest. Tara spotted Charlie's police car parked out front, as well as small Toyota. Though Tara didn't recognize the car she was pretty sure it belonged to Leah.

"_Great, the family's all here", s_he thought.

As soon as Tara entered the tiny house, a wall of fragrances greeted at the door. She detected several strong scents coming from the kitchen. The least of her favorite being the food that Seth's mother prepared. It filled every inch of the house. The one that appealed to her however, set her throat on fire. The smell of Charlie and Sue's blood made the venom well up in her mouth.

"Well this is it. It's not much, certainly nothing like the Cullen's. I grew up here though, all my life," Seth said, showing her the tiny living room they entered first.

"No, it's nice. The Cullens have a beautiful place, but this looks like a home. It's very warm and inviting. I like it. "

"Thanks." He smiled.

Tara's attention shifted to a shelf full of family pictures. She noticed a picture of Seth in his graduation cap and gown, as well as one of Leah. A couple in a wedding picture stood next to it. "These are your parents?" she guessed, noting the similarities.

"Yes."

"You have your father's smile and your mother's eyes." Seth liked her observation. He moved closer to her, positioning himself behind her and put his hands on her shoulders.

She picked up a picture of Seth and Leah when they were toddlers, playing in a small plastic pool in their yard both of them completely naked. She identified the boy in the picture with a big toothy smile. "Weren't you cute." She snickered.

Seth rolled his eyes, embarrassed that his mother kept such old pictures out around the house. His friends always loved to tease him about the pictures when they came over but Sue refused to put them away. "Ah thanks. I'm sure you'll find plenty of incriminating photos of me around here if you look keep looking."

"Hmm, maybe I'll hafta look for those then." She winked, taking pleasure in watching his cheeks get redder as the blood rushed to his face.

It wasn't long before Leah picked up on their voices from the kitchen. She ran around the corner before their mother noticed. "What do you think you are _doing_? She interrupted, "Are you insane! You brought her _here_?" she spoke in a low tone trying to avoid being heard from the kitchen.

Seth's pleasant mood changed instantly. "Go on Leah, this isn't your concern."

"To _hell_ it's not! That's _my _motherin there too and you're about to drop a bomb on her!"

"No, I'm not. I'm just introducing her, that's all. And she _is_ welcome here."

Seth's mother, Sue Clearwater stepped around the corner before Leah could respond. She heard the commotion from the other room but couldn't make out what was going on. "Why hello! I thought I heard new voices. Are you going to introduce me to you friend Seth or is it a secret?"

Seth turned towards his mother's voice slightly stunned. "Uh, hi mom,… this is…uh.." He stopped mid-sentence as soon as he turned his head back around, looking at Tara.

Leah stared at her also in complete shock. Tara's appearance had changed. Her completion was more radiant and her hair was slightly longer and pulled back in a clip and her eyes were a light brown. Seth couldn't say another word as he remained focused on her. Her transformation took him by surprise.

Tara figured the silence went on long enough and decided to speak up. "Hello, Mrs. Clearwater, I'm Tara. It's nice to meet you." she said with a big smile.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you too, Tara. Maybe you better tell Seth your name again too. He seems to have forgotten it."

"_Mom_...," he complained but Sue just ignored him and continued her conversation with Tara.

"So, are you from around here?" she asked.

Tara politely smiled back. She turned her attention to Seth's mom as she casually spoke. "Oh, I just moved here from the East Coast. Seth and I met through some mutual friends and he's been showing me around." Not entirely a lie, she thought.

"That's so nice of him. I hope you're making good friends here in town." It delighted Sue to see Seth spending time with someone other than Jacob for once. He dated a few girls in the past but it never developed into anything serious. She begun to worry about he and Leah since neither of them had experienced an imprint. She knew how difficult it was to meet people living in such a tiny town and even harder living on a reservation because it limited their opportunities. Sue was mainly concerned for their happiness in life but she truly hoped that she one day they would each have children, especially Seth, who could pass on the family name. When she noticed Tara observing the family photos, she sauntered across the room and began to chatter on about each photo telling her when and where each was taken.

Tara just smiled politely. She hoped his mother wouldn't notice that she held her breath to keep from breathing in the sweet aroma of her blood. It was only on rare occasions that Tara needed to pretend she was human. Most of the time she was just invisible to humans and since being invisible didn't require her to act like one, she never needed to breathe around them. It just always made it easier for her not to have to smell their blood when she was near them. Tara knew she could only get away with it until she had to speak again. She just allowed his mother to continue to ramble on while she kept a very attentive expression on her face.

Sue became so wrapped up in the conversation she almost forgot about the food on the stove. A buzzing sound echoed from the kitchen. "Oh will you excuse me? I need to grab that. I'm not so sure Charlie's knows how to shut off the timer." She chuckled.

Tara just smiled politely at her.

When she disappeared into the kitchen, Seth leaned into Tara's face. "_What are you doing_?" Seth spoke in a loud whisper.

"I'm sorry, I panicked." Tara winced.

Leah interrupted. She was stunned by Tara's transformation. "Holy cow! What happened to you? How are you _doing_ that?"

Seth and Tara just ignored her. "But she thinks you're human now!" he said.

"So? Maybe that's not such a bad thing."

"Until she figures it out, I can't lie to her about this."

"Well she seems to like me as a human. I doubt she would be so cordial with me if she knew what I _really_ am."

Leah cut in again. "Yeah, probably not."

"Butt-out Leah! He growled at her. "Mom can handle the truth just fine. She's seen her kids morph into giant wolves. "

"Yeah well dad didn't and I don't like the risk!" Seth growled at Leah, nearly lunging at her for bringing up the painful memory of his father's death. Tara jumped in front of him before he could attack.

"No Seth, don't do anything you'll regret later." Tara warned him.

The fierceness started to diminish as she touched her cool hands to his face and diverted his boring glare from Leah to her golden eyes. "I don't protection from my brother, _bloodsucker!_" Leah snarled at Tara.

"Who said anything about protecting _you_?" she retorted. Tara figured Seth could put up a good fight against Leah, but she didn't want things to get out of hand, especially with Sue just off in the next room.

Both Seth and Leah's bodies shook visibly as they faced off. They both tried keep from phasing right there in the living room.

Just then, Charlie came in to say hello. "Hey Seth, how are things at Big Dogs?" he smiled.

Seth took a deep breath to calm down, trying to regain his composure. "Business is good. Jacob's got me doing more than half the work right now but I really need the money."

The conversation distracted him enough and he stopped shaking.

"Well no one can say you don't work hard, that's for sure. It's all your mom talks about," Charlie said while glancing over at the new girl in the room.

Tara smiled politely at Charlie's comments making eye contact. Before Seth could introduce her, Sue walked in with a plate of cookies and interrupted. She placed them on a small wooden coffee table. They were Seth's favorite - chocolate chip. "These just came out of the oven. I probably shouldn't serve them before dinner but I didn't know Seth was bringing company over."

"That's ok mom, you didn't have to go through any trouble. We're not really hungry right now", he said hoping to make an excuse for Tara.

"You never refuse my cookies," she complained. "Besides, let the girl speak for herself…..Tara, would you like some cookies? I made them from scratch."

Charlie picked up on the name right away. "Tara?" He recalled hearing that name before. "Bella mentioned a _Tara_. Are you by chance the new foster kid that the Cullen's took in?" he asked curiously.

Tara nervously looked at Sue's reaction to the mentioning of the Cullens. She figured the chances of there being two Tara's that came to a small town like this would be slim to none. Not wanting to create another lie, she just decided to go with it. "Yes that's correct."

Seth's mom stared at Tara with a very suspicious look on her face. Tara just smiled innocently.

"Funny though, you don't look like a Cullen. Actually you look more like you belong here on the Rez," Charlie noted.

"Oh yes, well… that's because I look like my mother."

"Is that so? So, where are your parents now?" Sue inquired curiously.

"They're… um, no longer alive. They were murdered. I've been on my own for a while since." Also not a lie. Just short a few details_,_ she thought.

"Oh you poor thing, what happened?"

"Uh, Mom…" Seth said shaking his head.

"Oh I'm sorry, I shouldn't ask. That's just so tragic." Sue sympathetically touched Tara's arm. It felt cold as ice to her. She shifted her eyes from Tara's face to her arm when she touched the skin. "_Oh my_, you're frozen." Her eyes widened. She pulled her hand back very quickly, her suspicions grew.

"Yeah, I don't have a jacket. It's no big deal though…I'm used to the cold."

"Seth did you drive her here without a jacket on? Where are your manners?"

"Sorry, she's a little stubborn," he said as he nudged her. Tara nudged Seth back, forcing back a grin. It came through her eyes though and he spotted it.

"Well it's nice of the Cullens to take you in. They've always been good like that. They have a lot of foster kids," Charlie said.

"They are very gracious in opening their hope to me in my time of need," Tara replied.

"Oh _yeah,_ they're real humanitarians," Leah said sarcastically.

Seth just gave her another dirty look. Charlie and Sue looked at her with a confused stare for acting rudely. Leah decided she'd amp up the game she was playing. She picked up the plate of cookies and grabbed one, taking a bite. "These are great cookies mom, thanks." She held it out to Tara. "Here, try one Tara, my mom is the best cook," she grinned, knowing she wouldn't eat them.

They all looked at Tara for a moment as she stared at the cookies, unsure of what do to.

"I _told_ you we're not hungry, Leah. Don't you have some other place you could go and be a pain-in-the-ass in?" he snapped.

"Seth! What kind of talk is that?" his mother scolded.

"Sorry mom, Leah's just been getting on my nerves lately," he said through his teeth.

"Well that's no reason to talk to her like that, and not in front of your friend especially." Sue reached her hand out to take the plate from Leah. "For heaven's sakes, it's completely _fine_ if no one wants to eat right now," she said.

"Oh yeah I forgot, the Cullens _never eat_," Leah blurted out.

Seth's blood started to boil. He knew his mother would surely be suspicious now. Tara saw Seth's mood changing. She decided she'd bite the bullet on this one since it was her that decided to pretend being human. She hoped she could just fake eating the cookie and then expel it later. Tara grabbed a one off the plate that Leah still held in her hand. "Don't be silly, of course they eat. I'd love one," she said.

"_Never tried this before but, here it goes. How bad can it be_?" Tara thought. She put the cookie to her mouth and bit down. "_Ok it's bad!" _She thought as she chewed.

Leah and Seth watched in almost disbelief. Tara tried very hard to look like she enjoyed it. Solid food hadn't entered her throat in over fifty years. The cookie was dry and hard going down when she swallowed. It was like eating dirt, she thought – very bland and grainy.

"Thank you, they are very good," she lied.

Her second bite didn't go down so easy. She meant to take only one more and then hope to distract them in conversation so she could crumble it up and dispose of it without them noticing. She coughed trying to dislodge the pieces that got stuck in her throat.

"Oh my gosh! Are you choking?" Sue said frantically, as she grabbed a glass of water.

Tara shook her head. She took the glass from Sue's hand and sipped it, dislodging the crumbs. "I'm fine," she gasped once the food was down.

They all stood staring at Tara in an awkward moment.

"Hey why don't you stay for dinner Tara?" Leah suggested breaking the silence. Her phony smile irritated Seth and he gave her another bitter look.

"No. Thank. You." Tara said between her clenched teeth. "I'll be having dinner with my family later. We have plans." Her eyes narrowed, glaring at Leah.

"Oh, are you all going _out_ to eat?" Leah asked, starting in again with the elusive questions.

Seth angrily shoved Leah's arm knocking the cookies all over floor. "Nice going dumb-ass," Leah said.

"Alright, I've had about enough of that!" Sue scolded both of them. "Both of you can clean this up," she said in a snappy tone.

"Do you have a vacuum Mrs. Clearwater? I could help." Tara offered.

Sue already headed to the closet to grab it. "Yes, I..…" Sue grunted. The vacuum wasn't in the closet where she'd put it last. "Ok, _where_ is my vacuum?" She looked in at her two children who would be the only ones in the room that she knew would have taken it.

"Uh, sorry mom, I borrowed it for my apartment," Leah confessed.

"Well that's just great." Sue huffed, putting her hand on her hip.

"It's okay, I have shop-vac in the garage, mom." Seth offered then grabbed Tara's hand to lead her though the kitchen and out the back door towards the garage. She stopped when she saw the hound dog lying on the floor next to the exit. It let out a defensive growl as soon as it saw Tara.

"Homer, no!" he said as he scolded the animal. "Come on, it's okay, he's just an old grouch. He thinks he owns the place."

Tara walked slowly towards the door keeping eye contact with the animal. It continued to growl when she passed. When her leg swung by the dog however, it lashed out and bit her ankle. Tara didn't even flinch as the animal latched on. Its teeth couldn't penetrate her hard skin.

Sue and the others came in to see what the commotion was as Seth yelled at Homer. The dog cowered and then ran out the door, hiding under the back porch.

"What happened?" Sue asked. "Oh no! Were you bit?"

"Wow this just keeps getting better," Leah mumbled.

"Homer just freaked out for no reason," Seth said.

"Maybe _someone_ spooked him," Leah smirked.

Seth angrily slammed the door shut. Everyone but Tara jumped at the noise.

Then Sue looked at Tara's leg. "Oh Tara, you're bleeding." She noticed blood dripping from her ankle.

Seth's eyes widened. "You are?" Seth leaned down to see the gash in her leg that oozed blood.

Tara nodded at Seth, hinting to play along. "It's not bad. I should probably go back to the house and have Carlisle take a look at it though. I don't want it to get infected or anything." She leaned on one leg to look convincing trying to use the injury as an escape route.

Sue handed her a towel for the blood that wasn't really there. Tara started to worry about her illusions getting out of hand now. "Thank you," she said as she took the towel from her hand and then gave Seth an apologetic look.

Just then Seth quickly scooped Tara up into his arms.

"What are you doing?" Tara squealed.

"I don't think you should walk on that. I'm gonna take you in the bathroom and help you clean it." He looked her straight in the eyes.

She understood. "Oh," she replied.

They all stared silently as he carried her out of the room.

Seth carried her to a small bathroom down the hall. He gently set her back on her feet and closed the door. He put his hands to his face and rubbed his temples trying to figure out what to do next.

"Ah…sorry. I keep making this worse for you. I don't mean to," she said.

Seth let out a big sigh. He stepped towards Tara, cupping her face in his hands and put his forehead to hers. Then he squeezed his eyes shut and took some deep breaths.

Tara waited patiently for him to calm down. When he opened his eyes, Tara looked like her vampire self again.

"I know, he sighed, touching her cheek."I'll figure out how to explain. Don't worry about it. That was kind of amazing though, you certainly know how you fool a crowd."

"Oh I am the master of deceit," she grinned.

Seth chuckled then studied her face intently. "So, is that what you looked like when you were human?"

"Yes, as best as I can remember."

"I thought you remember everything."

"Some human memories become clouded. Only everything after the change is crystal clear."

"Well…you had beautiful brown eyes." He caressed her cheekbone with the back of his fingertips.

"If you like, I can always look like that for you. If it's what you prefer."

"That won't be necessary. I like you just the way you are."

"Even though I'm a pale-face?" she kidded.

"Even though you're a pale-face," he agreed, smiling at her. He was about to lean in to kiss her when she made a face he hadn't seen before. It looked like she was in pain and she moaned.

"What is it?" he worried.

"Nothing, I just don't think my stomach likes you're mom's cookies. I'll have to get rid of them."

"How are you gonna do that?" he wondered.

Before she could explain there was a knock at the door. Seth rolled his eyes and sighed impatiently.

She touched his chest with her palm. "It's Jacob," she whispered.

"How do you know that?"

"Cuz…. he stinks really bad," she said scrunching her nose. Seth snickered.

"Hey you guys in there? Are you decent?" Jacob shouted from behind the door.

Seth sighed and then yanked the door it opened. "What do you mean by _are we __decent_?"

"Well, I don't wanna walk in on anything that might damage my eyesight."

"Real nice Jacob. My mom's in the next room. You seriously think we came into the bathroom for a quickie?" Seth argued.

"Hey, you said it, not me." He shrugged.

Seth shook his head ignoring Jacob's crassness. "What do you _want_?"

Jacob glanced at Tara quickly and then looked at Seth. "Uh… we need to talk."

"Is this private?" she said, picking up on the hint.

"If you don't mind," Jacob replied.

"She can't leave, her leg is supposed to be injured."

"Huh?" Jacob said, confused.

"I'll explain later."

"Don't worry about it. I'll limp outside. I'll tell your mom I need some air. I have something to take care of anyway," Tara said wanting to get out of there.

"Okay, wait for me?"

She nodded and then disappeared.

Once Seth finished his talking to Jacob, he searched for her outside and found her behind the garage, bent over a fresh pool of blood. "Oh my God Tara, what happened?"

She put her hand up in the air signaling for him to stop. "Don't come closer, please." She didn't face him. She wiped the blood that dripped from her mouth not wanting him to see.

"But there's blood!" he cried.

"It's okay. It's just that I can't digest food so I had to get it out of my system."

"Oh," he understood, feeling relieved. "Well, why can't I come near you?"

"I don't want you to see me like this and ….all _my_ food came out with the cookies. I'll have to hunt now."

"I just want to make sure you're alright. You don't have to be embarrassed." He stepped closer but she turned from him.

"I'm okay but I can't go back in there with your mom and Charlie. I definitely don't trust myself now."

"I understand," he said pausing for a moment. "I have to leave Tara, just for a while." She turned slightly to look at him. She didn't speak. "The Pack has called a meeting. I'm obligated to go," he continued.

She nodded.

Then, Jacob and Leah came around the corner. "You ready Seth? We're leaving." Jacob looked at the fresh pool of blood in front of Tara and became nervous. "What just happened?"

Leah stood by him, observing. "Oh wow, looks like Tara tossed her cookies," she said grinning.

Seth grabbed Leah's arm. "This is _your_ fault!"

"My fault? I didn't tell you to bring your vampire girlfriend over to the house to meet mom and then pretend to pass her off as a human!"

Jacob gawked at the two of them. "What the heck did I just miss here?" he asked. Then he looked back at where Tara stood.

She disappeared.

"Hey, where is she?" he said.

"She had to hunt. Let's go." Seth ordered. His mood changed entirely. He wasn't look forward to the Pack meeting they were about to attend.

**THE WOLVES** gathered near one of the cliff tops. They stood grouped together, talking and joking around.

When Seth, Jacob and Leah came through, they all became quiet and stared at them.

Embry stopped them as they passed.

"_Hey Seth, wanna hear something funny, these guys are trying to tell me that you imprinted on that new vampire. Ha! Isn't that hilarious_?"

Seth stared at him blankly.

"_What?" _Embry asked_._

"_I told you it's true_." Quil said.

Embry waited for Seth to defend himself but he said nothing. "_You mean it's true? They're not kidding?"_

"_I told you that's why we're here. You never take me seriously."_ Quil shook his head.

"_Holy crap_!"

"_Yeah I heard you even kissed her, ain't that true Seth?" _Paul added.

Seth angrily looked at them. He didn't like the thoughts he heard coming from them. He continued to suppress his thoughts from them however. "_Yes". _He grumbled_._

"_Wow, what's that like… kissing a vampire…is it gross_?" Embry wondered.

"_No, it's not gross! It's just….. different_."

"_Yeah, like thirty-degrees different_." Paul laughed. The others laughed too.

"_Ha ha! Good one bro!" _They high fived with their paws.

"_Shut-up, Paul! You don't know anything!" _Seth growled.

"_Is it true she's Volturi too?"_

"_What? Are you serious?"_

"_No, not anymore. She's not one of them."_

"_So, what does this mean? Are we able to imprint on vampires now?" _Embry asked_. _

"_No way! That ain't gonna fly"! _Jared said.

"_Yeah but look at Jacob and Seth…it's gotta be possible"_! Quil thought.

"_Hey I don't wanna imprint on no vampires!"_

Jacob heard every painful thought in Seth's mind. He finally spoke up jumping in their faces._ "Enough, all of you_!" He growled at them fiercely.

Seth's emotions were already stirred up now. "_She didn't choose to be a vampire. They killed her family and turned her. It's not like she asked for it to happen!"_

"_Yeah but she's still one of __them__. I mean she's dead. How can you mate with that_? Embry asked.

"_Heh, heh_. Y_eah they've got a name for that you know_." Paul said.

The comment infuriated Seth and he lunged, knocking Paul down. "_You_ s_hut the hell up! I don't look at her that way! She's more than that to me!"_

Sam came over and stepped in. "_That's enough! Seth, back down!"_

Seth obeyed, backing off and went and stood by Jacob.

"_We have a more serious issue that needs to be discussed her here Seth. What are we gonna do if your vampire girl attacks a human?" _Sam said.

"_She won't."_

"_Seth you can't guarantee that and you know it"._

"_She won't_!" Seth anrgued.

"_Yeah, the rules say we can't touch her now that you've imprinted on her. That means she can go around killing humans and there's nothing we can do to stop it"? _Paul demanded to know_._

"_Oh to heck with that!" _Quil said

"_No. She won't do that. I know her."_

_"You can't be sure of it though. What if she does harm a human? Will you stop her?"_

_"Yes. I would." _

"_How?"_

Seth became quiet thinking about what he'd really have to do if it came to that.

"_Would you be able to finish it"_?" Sam asked.

Seth winced.

"_I'd do it." _Jacob said.

They all looked at Jacob stunned.

"_That's not allowed Jacob, Pack's rules_." Sam told him.

"_Yeah well I don't care. I'd rather my best friend hate me than he hate himself for the rest of his life for killing the one he loves. And I don't care what you do to me…you wanna expel me for it go ahead. This is my pack and I set the rules. We protect our own_."

Everyone looked at Sam for guidance. "_He can challenge you to fight Jake." _Sam reminded him_._

"_I know_.

"_To the death". _He added.

Jacob nodded.

Seth shook his head. "_No…I can't let you do that"._

"_Well you don't have a choice anymore. I'm sorry_. _It's an order_." His alpha said.

Seth looked at Jacob sadly. He couldn't imagine ever hurting his best friend. He loved him like a brother. But he knew he would have to allow the Pack to do their job without repercussion. It was the only solution. The meeting turned his stomach sour. Angry and hurt, he departed, heading for his place, running as hard as he could through the darkness.

Desiring to see Tara, he grabbed the extra set of clothes he kept in the garage and dressed. Then he ran back outside to his bike. It made a clicking noise when he tried to start it but couldn't see anything. His hand touched something wet on the ground underneath it. "_Great_," he thought.

Once he pushed it into his garage to get a better look, he discovered a leak that required his attention. He contemplated leaving the bike there and heading to the Cullen's on foot but the more he thought about it, the more he thought it might be better for him to calm down heading over there. He grabbed his tools and started working on the bike.

A couple hours passed as he slowly worked, taking pieces off and checking each one. He took more time than needed. He knew he needed a part that was at the shop in order to get the bike in running order but he just couldn't seem to leave yet. He kept trying to think about how he'd tell Tara about the meeting. His stomach knotted up thinking about it. A tear ran down his cheek and he immediately rubbed his eye with his clean sleeve, trying to avoid getting any grime on his face. Just then a tiny voice came from behind him out of nowhere. "Hey." Tara stood behind him.

He never even heard a footstep when she crept up behind him. His head jerked around quickly. "Hey," he responded.

They looked at each other silently for a moment. Then he spoke again. "Didn't Jacob tell you I'd be coming over?"

"Yeah, he did but it seemed like a long time and I'm just kind of impatient," she shrugged, "Plus I sensed something was wrong when he came over and of course _he _wouldn't tell me so…"

Seth let out a deep sigh and stood up. When their eyes met she noticed the glossiness in them.

"The meeting didn't go well?" she asked.

"Not quite. It left me with a lot to think about." He turned his face diverting his eyes to the ground as he fidgeted with the tool in his hand.

"It was about _us _right?" she assumed.

"Yes."

She waited, wondering if he was going to give her more than a bunch of short replies. He said nothing else. "So…do you wanna talk about it?" she asked.

He didn't speak. When his eyes began to well up with tears, he tried to hold them back. In flash, she was in front of him. She touched his face wiping the warm tear drop that rolled down his cheek. "Seth? What is it?" She hated to see him this way.

He shook his head and cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure. Turning away from her, he walked over to his workbench then rubbed his sleeve on his face. He took a deep breath before speaking. "It was something that was brought up that I hadn't thought about before."

"What?"

"The Pack is never allowed to harm the Imprint of another. It's one thing that saved Renesmee when she was born. They were planning on destroying her because of what she is. They were afraid of her. Since Jacob had imprinted on her, they weren't allowed to touch her. It's one of our rules."

"And?"

"And….they wanted to know what I would do if you were to ever attack a human, because they are rendered helpless. They can't touch you."

"I see." She looked away thinking about the situation. "So what was your answer to that?" she wondered.

Seth's lip trembled. He started to back away feeling guilty. When he didn't answer, she looked at his face. It tormented her to see him in such pain. She knew however, what it was he would have to do if she ever slipped up.

"Oh, I see," she said again in a whisper.

"No! You don't see! I could _never_ hurt you. It's impossible."

"But that's what you're meant to do. You'd have to, if it ever came to that."

He shook his head and sighed. "I know it's my job to, but I just can't. I'd die before I'd ever hurt you. It's just how I feel and I can't change that. It's tormenting me Tara, because it goes against everything that I am."

"I told you Seth, I'm the Scorpion. It's our nature to kill."

"You told me you don't want to kill and I trust you."

She moved towards him standing directly in front of him and put her hand to his face turning his eyes into hers. "I don't _want_ to - I never want to take another human life as long as I exist but I can't promise you that would never happen. Honestly I'd rather you take my life if I ever did. You have no idea what it's like to live with the memories of what I've done."

He wiped his hand on his pants and stepped closer to her, running the back of his fingers down her arm trying not to get her clothes dirty. He put his forehead to hers. I'm sorry," he whispered.

"What are you sorry for?"

"I didn't want to bring up past. It wasn't my intention."

She pushed him back. "Don't be sorry for what _I've_ done. The Pack has every right to be worried. They should be able to do their job if they need to."

Seth became very quiet. He looked away again. "They will. I…I had to give them permission to."

Tara nodded and looked down. A moment of silence came between them. "I should go. You probably need some time alone I think."

He wanted to hold her and tell her how much he loved. He searched for the courage to say the words but before he could even turn around to face her, she was already gone.

**The next morning**

Seth opened his eyes. He lay in his bed, still in the clothes he had on the night before.

Tara was laying next to him on her side with her head propped up on one arm. She smiled. "Good morning," she said softly.

He lifted his head up and looked into her golden eyes. "Hey, you came back." His eyes lit up.

"Yes, I couldn't stay away. I missed you."

"I'm glad." He caressed her face.

"Besides, I enjoy watching you sleep. I find it rather fascinating."

"Fascinating?" he chuckled. "I think you need a hobby."

"I have several already. You're my new favorite one now," she grinned.

"I certainly don't mind being your favorite hobby. I really could get used to waking up next to you too. It's nice to see your smile in the morning."

She chuckled. "It's actually quite comfy." She slid her hand down the bed, feeling the plush mattress. "Considering I don't sleep, I found it an enjoyable commodity. And…well I have another confession."

"What's that?" he wondered.

"I liked lying next to you. You're delightfully warm and your heart beat is like music to me. It's hard to describe, but it was a very pleasurable experience for me. I found it difficult to let you actually… _stay_ asleep," she said flirtatiously.

He grinned and then reached over and touched her face, leaning in to kiss her. He put his arm around her waist and slid her over closer to his body. Before things got too heated, they were interrupted by a honking that came from a car horn outside. Their lips parted. Seth's heart pounded in his chest.

"What's that?" she asked.

Seth sighed. "Oh… just my ride to work."

Tara recognized the hum of the engine now and the distinct feral scent of Jacob.

"Mmm, maybe it's for the best." She got up from the bed. "We haven't even had our first date yet."

He stood up. "That's true. Are you looking forward to it then?"

"Of course silly. Why wouldn't I?"

"Just making sure we were still on."

"I wouldn't miss it for anything. It's my first date, remember?"

"I want it to be memorable for you."

"It will be," she whispered. She leaned in to kiss him again when she heard the door knob turning.

Seth turned his head towards the door, seeing Jacob barging through.

"Hey bro, you ready?"

"Ah..yeah," Seth said nervously. He turned around seeing that Tara had already disappeared.

"Who were you talking to in here?" Jacob asked suspiciously.

"Um…no one," Seth lied.

Jacob stepped in further and took a whiff of the air. "You liar! I can smell her. Did…did she stay?"

"None of your business," Seth said putting his shoes on.

"Did you guys….?"

"Shut-up! _No_, of course not! Geeze, she just watched me sleep!"

"Okay, okay...well, you just better be careful, one bite and your done your know."

Seth sighed. "She won't bite me. She doesn't even want my blood, she told me. "

"She did? Why what's wrong with your blood?"

"I dunno, it's just unappealing to her. I guess it's just a wolf thing. She said she wasn't even tempted the day at the beach when I hit my head and bled. She didn't care."

"Wow, well that's good to know. She could still damage you though. You're no match for her strength in that body."

"So far she's pretty gentle, she's learning. _And_, I trust her."

"Wow so what is it really like…the kissing? Do you taste venom?"

"God, you're so nosey! No, I don't taste anything…well anything unusual. Her lips are always cold at first but that's about it. Other than that it's really nice. In fact, it's unbelievably nice. She's…..ah.. really good at it."

Jacob just scrunched his nose at him then shook his head. "Yup, you're doomed buddy."

"Just shut up and drive." Seth gave him a shove and they headed to work.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: The Date**

Tara anxiously waited for the week to end, looking forward to her date with Seth. Agreeing to allow Alice to prepare her for the event, she sat in the makeshift beauty chair in the bathroom while Alice styled her hair. She skillfully twisted it around in the back and pinned it up, leaving just a few strands dangling elegantly in the front. She applied a little bit of makeup to her face as well. Tara had her limits though. She preferred to be plain and comfortable and kept warning Alice not go too overboard. "I'm not trying to win any beauty contests tonight," she said.

"Don't fret. I'm going light on the application. I _did_ promise to make you look stunning however."

Renesmee helped by handing Alice bobby pins for Tara's hair. "I think you're gonna make Seth's eyeballs drop out. Have you seen the dress Alice picked out for you?" she said.

Tara frowned. "Dress? I told you I don't do dresses Alice, not to mention I'm gonna be on a motorcycle."

"Nope, not tonight you're not."

"I'm not?" Tara's eyebrow rose on one side.

"Nope, Edward insisted that Seth take a car. He refuses to let you go on your very first date on the back of a motorcycle."

"But... I like motorcycles," she mumbled. " …and jeans," she added.

"Well not tonight. You get the..."

"Porsche!" She finished Alice's sentence with an excitedly hopeful tone.

"Uh _no_…that's _my_ car. You get the Audi."

"Oh," she pouted, feeling slightly disappointed. "Well still… I've never driven one of those before."

"Nice try, Edward gave Seth specific instruction to not let any under-aged, unlicensed drivers behind the wheel."

"Figures." Tara rolled her eyes. "_Gee, what other not-fun things could you plan for my date_?" she thought.

Alice fitted her in a black sleeveless cocktail dress and handed her a box with a brand new pair of black pumps inside. Tara was definitely not thrilled about those. When Alice finished, Tara stood up and stared at herself in the mirror, twirling around looking at herself from all angles. "_It's a good thing I don't have to worry about feeling drafty_," she thought.

As she made her way down stairs, she saw the whole family come into view. Seth stood amongst them already waiting. He couldn't take his eyes off her. He wore a dark blue button-up, long sleeve shirt with a tie. Alice noticed the denims right away. "_Jeans_…really?" she snorted at him.

"What?" Seth shrugged. "They're _nice_ jeans."

Alice groaned.

"How come _you_ get to be comfortable," Tara complained, teasing him but Seth never answered. He just silently stared at Tara in awe. Jacob stood next to him and gave Seth a shove from behind to snap him out of his trance.

"What? Oh…sorry. You look great," he grinned from ear to ear.

She felt awkward though. "I think I'm a bit over dressed actually, maybe I should change so we coordinate better."

"No don't… I like it. Please, don't change a thing."

Alice smiled, gloating at her work.

"Yeah, you clean up real well Elvira," Jacob added.

Renesmee shushed Jacob. "I think you look _gorgeous_ Tara," she said.

"Thanks, Ness. And thanks to you too Alice. I guess I really did get to _stun_ someone after all."

The three of them laughed.

"Plus I think it puts at least five more years on you," Renesmee added.

"Hey, I always wanted to date an older woman," Seth joked.

"Uh, I _am_ an older woman," she reminded him.

"Only by a technicality," he reminded her back.

"Oh you look just lovely," Esme said as she came into the room with Carlisle.

She hugged Tara just before handing her two tickets to the Symphonic Orchestra. "You two have fun tonight," she smiled.

"Thanks Esme, we will," she smiled. Then she looked up at Seth and grinned.

"Thanks again for getting these. We really appreciate it," she said to both Esme and Carlisle.

Seth felt bad about Carlisle having to go through all the trouble of getting tickets for them, knowing they wouldn't be using them.

You're very welcome," Carlisle answered.

Edward chuckled as he ease dropped on their plot to ditch the Orchestra and go play mini-golf instead.

"Shall we?" Seth asked as he swung his arm out gesturing for them to go. Renesmee gave Tara a thumbs-up as she and Seth headed out the door.

Before Seth even got the passenger side door fully opened, Tara zipped around to the driver's side in a flash. Had he not heard the other door shut, he wouldn't have even known where she'd disappeared to. He stuck his head in the car seeing Tara's hands eagerly gripped the steering wheel. Her feet barely touched the pedals at the floor. She grinned at Seth.

He tried to ignore how adorable she looked for the moment so he could talk her out of the seat. "Umm, what are you doing?"

"What?" she shrugged very innocently.

"There's no way. Edward already promised he'd break every bone in my body if he found out I let you drive this car and he will know if you do." Seth tapped the side of his head with his finger.

She rolled her eyes and made a pouty huff. Then she stepped out and quickly zipped around to the other side, still letting Seth close the door for her.

As soon as he started the engine, the stereo came on instantly. The CD whirred up and began to play The Big Bad Wolf by Duck Sauce. Seth and Tara just looked at each other and laughed. "Edward." They both said simultaneously. Seth shook his head as he turned down the volume.

In the house, Edward laughed as well while he listened to their thoughts, satisfied with his little prank.

Once Tara felt they were far enough away, she looked in the back for something. "_Now_ what are you up to?" he asked suspiciously.

She pulled out backpack that had been cleverly hidden behind her seat and unzipped it, pulling out a pair of jeans and one of her favorite shirts. "_Oh my_, look! How did _these _get in here?" she said musically, as she displayed a devilish grin. She knew very well that Renesmee had Jacob place the bag of clothes in there, so Alice would never see it.

"You brought extra clothes?"

"Yes, um…hope you don't mind."

"No of course not, I want you to be comfortable. You _do _look amazing in that dress though."

"Well I really could have just made myself look like this without all the work involved and being tortured by Alice and all."

"Mmm, I don't know if you could actually imagine yourself to be as beautiful as you are for real though." Seth had difficulty keeping his eyes on the road.

"You'd be surprised at what I could do, she said cunningly.

"Well I like the real you, no illusions."

"And you look extremely handsome tonight. Love the tie. Real or clip on?" she asked. Seth unclipped it and held it out to show her.

"Very nice," she chuckled. "So how far do we have to go?" she wondered as they drove several miles out.

"To Port Angeles. There's not much here in Forks unless you like hanging at the Mini-Mart for fun."

Tara heard a faint grumbling noise. "Seth, did you forget to eat again?" she asked.

"Um, no. Not really," he fibbed. She looked at him in disbelief. "I just wasn't really very hungry earlier, I was kinda nervous," he admitted.

"Nervous?"

"Yeah, I just want it to be a good experience for you. Don't worry, it's just normal to be nervous before a date. I take it you didn't have that problem?"

"Me? No. Anxious maybe. I'm very impatient, I counted the seconds," she gleamed.

"Uh, now you kinda make me wish we were doing something more exciting than mini-golf."

"Why's that?"

"Because, this is important. I mean…maybe we _should_ use the tickets that Esme got us. Mini-golf isn't exactly an extravagant pastime."

"Seth, I'm not an extravagant kind of person. I packed comfort clothes so we could have fun. I've been to Orchestras and they can be very uplifting and beautiful but you just basically sit there and listen quietly. It doesn't involve a lot of one on one time with someone. I'd much rather just be able to enjoy you."

Seth smiled at her. "You know for someone who's never been on a date before, you seem to know a lot about them."

"When you don't get to date, you spend a lot of time thinking about it and what it might be like."

"You have a better memory from when you were human than you thought."

"Maybe. I think being around _you_ seems to help."

Seth's stomach started making more noise. "Do you wanna get some food for yourself?" Tara asked, concerned.

"Um, no I'll be fine," he said politely even though he was really starting to get very hungry. She gave him another doubtful stare. His eyes glanced over at her. "What?" He shrugged.

"You know, I may not know much about dating but I seem to recall that most dates start with a dinner usually. Am I right?"

"Well yes, but you don't eat so I was gonna skip that part."

"Why? It's part of the ritual."

He laughed when she referred to their date as a ritual. "What are you gonna sit with me and watch me eat?"

"Why not? You should get used to it anyways." She said. "So then…you'll eat and I'll talk while letting you stare at me in this dress for a while longer. Then when you're done, I'll change and we'll go play. Besides, I'm an extremely cheap date because you don't even have to pay for my half." She grinned. "Deal?"

He smiled and then nodded. "You had me at the part where I get to stare at you in that dress."

Tara laughed.

Seth found a small Italian place in Port Angeles. The waitress offered them a booth but Tara noticed they had an outdoor area with tables and requested to be seated out there away from the smells and the people. Even though it was summer, it was still too chilly out for any normal human to enjoy so they gladly had the entire area to themselves.

"Do me a favor will you?" Seth requested as he took off his jacket. "Put this on. I don't wanna look like I'm thoughtless for having you out here in that dress without a coat on."

Tara slipped Seth's enormous jacket on. The sleeves hung too long and the bottom nearly touched her knees. The inside felt like it had been left sitting by a fireplace for a while.

He grinned at her as she tried to shove the sleeves up her arms. "You look like a dwarf in that thing," he chuckled.

"That's only because you're so freakishly tall."

He chuckled.

The waitress brought them menus and Seth ordered two drinks for them, both the same since he'd be drinking them.

"Well only now you don't get to look at me in my dress," she frowned. Seth looked a little disappointed. He hadn't thought about that.

When the waitress returned with the drinks, Seth ordered the chicken with a side of pasta.

"And for you?" she asked Tara.

"Oh I think we will just share, hmm?" she winked.

"Yes, thank you," he said handing the waitress the menus.

After she brought his plate along with an extra fork and disappeared for a while, Tara slipped the coat off her shoulders and folded her arms on the table as they talked. Seth liked the dinner with a view. "So tell me about your parents," he prodded.

"My parents?"

"Yes, do you remember much about them?"

She nodded. "They were good people. My dad was a prominent business owner in our town, very…wealthy." She seemed reluctant to admit that part. "I was very close to my dad. He was very protective of me, sometimes too protective, but it was just because he loved me. He didn't like seeing me get hurt. It was a struggle for me being only half white you know. Interracial relationships weren't too popular back then and my dad insisted I go to a private Catholic school. Needless to say, I stood out."

"I'll bet. So how did your parents even meet?" Seth took small slow bites so he could listen as she talked, even though he was very hungry.

"My mom was a smart woman, very educated. She took advantage of all the incentives offered to our people. She was an art major but she learned to sell Real Estate to make a living. She met my father when he was looking for some land to build on. He told me he knew the first time he met her he was going to marry her. He said she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever laid his eyes on."

"Well considering she looks just like you, I can't blame him."

Tara would have blushed if she could.

He could tell from her coy smile he'd embarrassed her. "So how'd that go over with the family?" he continued.

"Not well. My grandmother wasn't happy about it. She didn't like my mother and she never really treated me like the other grandkids. My grandfather on the other hand, was very different, more accepting. He was just glad his son was happy. He was a pure Irishman. You should have heard his accent." Tara mimicked her grandfather's accent perfectly when she said the word Irishman.

Seth smiled.

"They were the happiest couple and they loved each other no matter what, even when the world was cruel and unapproved of their relationship."

"A forbidden love eh?" he observed.

"Yes. You could say that".

"I like that story."

"Do you?" Her eyebrows rose.

"Yes, they were two people, not only at opposite ends of the spectrum but from races that for the most part were enemies for ages, and against all odds, they found love. It's a _very_ good story."

She nodded and then looked down. "It's too bad it didn't have a happier ending."

"Well _something_ good came out of it". He touched her hand. He meant it to be a compliment for her but she didn't see it that way.

"_Nothing_ good came out of it," she said with an irritated tone.

Seth moved his hand from hers and sat back in his chair. "Tara, I'm being very sincere. Can you stop with all this self loathing stuff because it's really bumming me out. I totally _get_ you, and I know what happened to your family was horrible stuff, but what I'm trying to tell you is that I think you are a good thing. Can't you just _tr_y to accept my compliments?"

Tara pulled her hands back and set them in her lap. She looked down at the table as she spoke. "Yes, I'm sorry. It's just a sore subject for me. I don't mean to ruin the evening."

Seth leaned forward and lifted her chin with his fingers. "You haven't ruined anything. Just don't get all gloomy every time I compliment you. Despite what you think of yourself, I think the world of you and that's not gonna change. Okay?"

She looked in his warm eyes and nodded, then glanced at his plate that he'd hardly touched. "Your fowl is getting cold," she said in all seriousness.

Seth roared with laughter.

After dinner, Tara disappeared into the restaurant bathroom with her bag and changed her clothes. She let her hair down, brushing it neatly. Then she folded the little black dress and carefully placed it in the bag trying not to add wrinkles since she knew she'd have to put it back on before they went back to the house. She figured Alice wouldn't get too upset about the hair.

When she returned to the table, he still waited for the waitress to bring the check.

"Feel better?" he asked

"Yes, I feel more like me again. Are you disappointed?"

"No… never. I think you are always beautiful."

She smiled and then leaned over to kiss his cheek. "Thank you," she responded pleasantly.

No argument that time. He was glad.

Seth paid for the meal and they headed to the miniature golf course. It thrilled Tara to see the giant montage of obstacles on the lot. It didn't take long at all for her to pick up the game. She skillfully hit each ball with dynamic perfection sinking them into every hole. She even managed to win the bonus prize at the end of the game which required you to impossibly tap the ball through a small opening, send it up a steep mount and sink it into a volcano, accomplishing it with ease. Her accuracy and skill astounded him.

When they finished, he challenged her to several of the arcade games they had inside of the arena. He wasn't much of a match for her there either but she started feeling a little guilty for showing off and let him win a few rounds of Mortal Kombat.

When the place closed at ten, they headed back to Forks. The only thing left open at that hour for anyone under the age of twenty-one was the cinema and Tara said she'd rather save the activity for their next date out. Seth agreed with her.

"So did you have a good time tonight?" he asked her on the drive back.

"The best." she smiled.

"Honest?"

"Honest." She couldn't remember when she'd had that much fun, even in her human years.

"I wish there was more to do. Everything closes pretty early. They try to push a curfew on kids in the smaller towns. Keeps problems down to a minimum."

Tara looked out the window. A full moon lit in the sky. "What about the beach?" she suggested.

"What about it?"

"Could we go for a walk on the beach, or is it getting too late for you?"

"No, it's not too late. Anything you want," he said, liking the idea.

"Anything?" Her eye brows rose.

"Sure." He shrugged, keeping his eyes in the road ahead.

"Can we go to Disneyland?" There was a glint of excitement in her eyes.

He titled his head, giving her a funny look. "Um, are you being serious?"

She shook her head giggling. "No, I just wanted to see if you'd actually say yes."

Seth laughed. "You know I think you have more human traits than you give yourself credit for."

"Why do you say that?" She sounded disbelieving.

"Because… you're fun and you have a great personality. You display a lot of human qualities. You haven't lost them, they're all there."

"Maybe it's just the company that brings it out of me."

"Weren't you like this, you know…before?" he asked.

She understood he was referring to when she was a human. "Actually, I was a very shy kid."

"Really?"

"Yes, I told you I stood out and I didn't like it. I always tried to find ways to hide, blend in."

Seth began to make the connection to her gift now. "So I'll bet you were one of those bookworms that always got straight A's," he teased.

"Pretty much. If we had returned from Italy I would have graduated that year."

"At sixteen?"

"Is that bad?" She couldn't remember if that was normal or not.

"No that's great." He said, impressed. "I hope you don't think I'm prying too much tonight."

"Actually, it's stirring up a lot of memories for me. A lot of it's coming back now. You may keep asking. I like it."

Seth drove Tara to a closer beach with easier access. He parked the car and opened her door for her again. She took her shoes off so she could feel the sand on her feet as she walked. The night was unusually clear with a beaming moon, reflecting off the water and a sky full of stars. It was rare you could see so many stars at night in Forks.

After a long stroll she sat him down to show him some of the constellations that were visible particularly pointing out the constellation _Lupus_ which in Latin means wolf. It impressed him that she could name so many.

She scooted closer to him putting her head on his shoulder and they talked for a long time more, watching the waves roll in and out. Seth ran his fingers through her hair caressing it the entire time. "You're hair is like silk. I've never felt anything so soft before."

She turned her face and look up at him. Unable to resist the temptation to kiss her lips, he cradled her face in his hand and pulled it to his. His fingers trailed down her cheek to her neck. She closed her eyes taking pleasure in the warmth of his skin. Then as he brushed her hair back, his mouth moved along her cheek and down to her neck. When his lips met the base of her neckline and she gasped, pulling back slightly. She paused and looked at him with surprise. Her eyes darkened. "I'm sorry. You don't like that?" he said.

She shook her head, staring into his eyes like she was in a trance. "No, actually… I like it a lot," she spoke softly. She timidly raised her hand towards her face and pushed her hair behind her ear then she turned her head slightly, offering her neck to him again. He leaned in against her ear with his lips. She felt his warm breath on her skin as he spoke. "Are you sure you're okay?" he whispered.

She closed her eyes and nodded. His lips brushed her neck softly. He parted his lips slightly and warmly greeted her neck with his tongue. She stiffened up at first sitting perfectly still trying to let certain urges pass. "Still ok?" he asked again.

"Mm-hmm," she mumbled, with her eyes still closed.

"Are you nervous?" he was still whispering softly in her ear while teasing her neck.

"You could say that."

He pulled back to see her eyes but they were still closed. "It seems like you're resisting a little."

She opened them after noticing he stopped. "You have no idea," she admitted.

"Come here," he said as he turned her and pulled her up on his lap. He cradled her in his arms tenderly.

"If anything gets to be too much, just say so. I just like being close to you this way. It feels really nice."

She wrapped her arms around him, feeling his pounding heart against her chest. His fingers gently stroked her hair and shoulders."I'm just a little nervous about touching you, she admitted."You'd tell me if anything I did hurt wouldn't you?"

"Ah, I'm pretty sure I'd let you know."

She turned her head to look at his tender smile. Then she reached up to his face and touched it, his cheek softly with her cool hands. "Am I too cold for you?" she worried.

"Nope. You're just nice and cool." He put his hand against hers on his cheek.

"Not in a creepy way?"

"No, not creepy," he chuckled.

She leaned in and pressed her lips to his very slowly. The feel of his blazing hot skin against hers aroused her. Within minutes she became more excited and less fearful. She adjusted her position sitting herself in his lap in a straddled position. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. She put her hands to his face and began to softly kiss his forehead and worked her way past his temples. Then she slid her hands lower so she could kiss his cheeks until she reached his ear. "Do you trust me?" she whispered.

He nodded.

She leaned into his neck brushing her nose and lips long the base, softy kissing it. He quivered and she grinned at the reaction. Her lips slowly trailed back up his neck to his ear. "How did I do?" she wondered.

"You gave me goose bumps," he confessed.

She kissed him again but this time more passionately. His hands gripped her tighter, pressing her body against his. He kept one hand at the small of her back and slid the other one to the base of her neck entwining his fingers in her hair, his mouth at her neck again. She exhaled as she felt his hand gently gliding up her back under her shirt. She felt the blaze of his palm against her bare skin of her back. Her desire for him intensified as their bodies moved against each other. She felt herself losing control, impassioned by the feel of his heated body pressed against hers tightly. Suddenly, she shoved him back onto the sand, thrusting her body against his. He groaned but not in a good way. "Easy there Hercules," he said when he landed on his back.

"Are you hurt?" she gasped.

"No," he breathed heavily. Then his mouth was on hers again without hesitation. He rolled her on her side so they lay side by side. His hand trailed down the side of her body being careful of his boundaries. Tara's hand slid up the front of Seth shirt and ripped it open. The buttons flew off, exposing his chest and then he pulled back. "Ah, this was a good shirt," he said.

"I'll get you a new one," she whispered in his ear and then her mouth was on his again. She slid her hands over his bare chest and then around the side of his body gripping him to hold him even tighter. It was the sound of a snap that made her freeze suddenly just before she gasped. Seth pulled back as he sucked in a breath of air, groaning and squeezing his eyes shut. "Okay…" he winced. "Now I hurt."

"Seth! Oh. I'm so sorry!"

He grabbed his side exhaling slowly. "Ah…uh, I think something might be broken," he gasped as a sharp pain stabbed the side of his body.

Tara felt horrified by what she'd done. The thought of hurting him sickened her. "Oh no! No..no!" She slid off his lap and scooted away from him.

He breathed slowly trying to speak, shaking his head, wanting to remove the burden of her guilt. "It'll be ok...I'll be fine."

"No, you should have Carlisle look at it. It could be worse than you think. I...I can't believe I hurt you like that. I just lost control..." Remorse filled her eyes.

"Tara stop...don't beat yourself up...it's not like I was pushing you away."

"Maybe you s_hould _have," she scowled.

"Cut that out. I wanted to be close to you. We'll just have to figure this out somehow."

"We have to get you looked at. I need to take you back." Tara helped Seth get to the car and argued with him over who was going to drive. She wasn't serious, but she convincingly threatened to break more than just his ribs if he didn't hand over the keys to the car so she could drive him. Seth figured it was gonna be either her or Edward so he gave in and handed her the keys.

Tara drove insanely fast up the small dark road. Her eyes saw perfectly in the dark. She handled the car very skillfully racing at an intense rate of speed. "Tara, slow down! This is _not_ an emergency!"

She turned her eyes towards him quickly and then looked back at the road. He could see she was upset. "Tara, I mean it, slow down! You don't have a license and Charlie's working tonight. He _will _pull you over and I really, _really_ don't want to face that. Okay?"

She let up on the pedal. "Does it hurt much?" she worried.

"Only when I breathe."

"Oh… great."

"Don't sweat it. It's not my first vampire-related injury. It'll heal fast."

"Not your first?"

"Ah no…actually Bella and Ness have caused a couple. And not to mention the battles we were in. Those were pretty scary. This is nothing. I'll take a few broken bones from you any day," he winked.

"Don't joke about this Seth. It's not funny that I hurt you."

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Sorry. I'll save the humor for when you are in a _better_ mood."

Tara gave him an irritated look. She purposefully jerked the car slightly to the right and then back on the road quickly. Seth's body jerked with the movement. "Ow! Hey, what are you doing?"

"I _told_ you it wasn't funny." She snapped.

Seth smirked. "Okay, that's just mean."

She gave him another threatening look.

"Fine, I'll stop. Just quit driving all crazy-like." He sighed again. "I'm gonna close my eyes. Tell me when we get there."

"Good!" she huffed. He put his head back on the seat and closed his eyes, gripping his chest with his arms. She peeked over at him. It was quiet except for the hum of the engine. Finally she reached her hand over and rested it on his leg. The guilt overwhelmed her. Seth didn't open his eyes. He simply moved one hand and set it on top of hers. They drove the rest of the way without another word between them.

They arrived back at the house at nearly three in the morning.

"Don't move," she said just before getting of the car. She parked and zipped around to the other side to open the door.

Seth groaned as he stood up. "Not the front door. Can you sneak me in a back entrance? See if Ness left the window open or something." Seth hoped to avoid the majority of the family.

Tara took him around to the side of the house where Renesmee's bedroom was. The window was wide open. She eyed Renesmee's open window, planning her jump. She gently wrapped her arms around Seth's waist. "This might hurt a bit. You sure you don't wanna go in the front?"

"Positive." He gave her a stern look.

Tara held onto Seth and leaped up and through the window. "Ow." He spoke calmly even though it really hurt more than he wanted to lead on. He exhaled trying to take very small breaths to ease the pain.

"Sorry. I tried to be gentle."

"I know, thank you," he smiled. "Now, let's find Carlisle, _quietly_."

As they walked towards the door a voice spoke from the dark. "Hey guys. How was the date? Wait…what are you doing in my room?" Renesmee sat up, still a bit groggy.

"Shhh, go back to sleep Ness. We're just sneaking in quietly, I'll tell you everything later," Tara said.

Renesmee had excellent night vision as well. She took a good look at Seth. She could tell something was very wrong. His clothing looked ragged and he gripped his side as if he were in pain. "Are you okay? What happened? You get mauled by a wild animal or something?"

"Ah not exactly, but you're guess is not far off," Seth winked at Tara. She didn't find it amusing at all.

He tugged Tara's hand hoping to slip past as quickly as possible before Renesmee caught on. She stared at him with a bewildered expression but finally read their faces clearly and within a few moments she burst into a fit of laughter.

"Shhh, Ness cut it out!" Seth whispered loudly through his teeth. Renesmee continued to laugh so hard that she fell off the bed with a loud thud.

Seth just put his hand to his face with embarrassment and sighed. "Oh geeze, come on," he said to Tara as he continued to walk towards the door but when he opened it he there were already six curious vampires standing in the hallway, waiting to see what the commotion was.

Carlisle took one look at Seth and knew something was not right. The he looked over at Renesmee who was wiping the tears from her eyes in hysterics. "Um, Everything okay Ness?" Carlisle asked.

"Oh I'm fine, but you might wanna give Seth some attention." She giggled.

"Seth?" Carlisle took a look at Seth who tried to avoid looking anyone in the eye.

He just let out a deep sigh. "Ah, I have an injury I need looked at," he admitted.

He saw Seth gripping his sides with both arms. "May I?" Carlisle asked before lifting Seth's shirt to examine him."

Seth nodded. Carlisle gently touched the injured area. Seth held his breath as Carlisle pushed in a little. "You're lucky I just got off work. Is that tender?" he asked as he looked at the bruised area.

"Yep," Seth exhaled.

"Maybe I should have a closer look then. I have an exam room down the hall, let me take you there," he said as he gripped Seth's arm helping him.

Emmett and Jasper both noticed the enormous look of guilt on Tara's face and they both had enormous grins on their faces. "Nice going Tara, break your new toy already?" Emmett said.

Tara growled at him in passing.

Emmett just snickered. Then he whispered in Jasper's ear. "You owe me fifty bucks," Emmett said to him as he nudged him.

Tara turned towards the both of them giving them a dirty look. "What the ... did you guys make _bets_ on this?"

They both looked at each other with guilt on their faces. "Hey! I had fifty bucks that said you wouldn't kill him on the first date. I _knew_ you'd come through." Emmett just smiled trying to defend his bet.

Tara's eyes turned to daggers as she scowled at him.

"Better run Emmett!" Bella laughed.

Edward grabbed Tara before she took off after him and turned her back in the direction Carlisle was headed with Seth. Both the boys were still snickering from behind.

Carlisle took him to a small office that had an examination bed like the kind you see in a doctor's office. There was a large cabinet which held medical supplies and a small desk with a chair and a lamp. Not much else could fit in the crowded room.

Tara stood back in the corner with a grimace on her face and arms folded into her chest as she watched. Edward and Bella stood at the door and the others peaked in from behind in the hall to see try and hear what was going on. Carlisle helped Seth lay on the table so he could get a better look at him.

Seth moved very slowly as he laid on his back trying to relax as best he could. Carlisle lifted his shirt and lightly pressed several areas checking for injuries. Seth tried as hard as he could not to make a peep even though it hurt each time. He couldn't stand seeing the guilt on Tara's face and he knew it would only make her feel worse.

"Hmm, I don't feel anything broken but it's very hard to tell without an X-ray." The doctor said. "It might just be bruised in which case it could feel just as bad as a break. It's possible it started to heal on your way back here. Don't worry though. I won't have to reset anything."

"So is the treatment the same either way?" Seth asked.

"Yup, I'm just gonna wrap you and immobilize you for a while."

"Then do it, no need for X-rays. This will heal fast anyways."

Carlisle nodded. He reached into the supply cabinet to grab an elastic wrap. "So, would anyone care to tell me how this happened?" he asked as he pulled him into a sitting position and started to wrap the elastic around his rib cage.

"Um…. well, I kissed her…"

Carlisle chuckled. "Didn't I hear you got punched in the stomach last time you did that?"

"Yeah well, this time she didn't mind the kissing part so much."

"Mmm, I can see that from the extent of the injury you got this time." He winked.

"Right." Seth smiled, attempting to chuckle at Carlisle's sarcasm.

Edward had a disturbed look on his face. He saw the entire event in Tara's mind over and over as she replayed it in her head. He couldn't remain silent anymore. "Tara! How could you?" he said in an angered tone.

She looked at him with a stunned expression. "Hey! Get out of my head, those thoughts are private!" she shouted.

"Well you make it impossible when you think so loudly. He's _human_ Tara. How could you be so careless? You could have killed him!" Edward looked at her very seriously. He wanted her to get the point.

Her mood changed to anger. "I didn't mean to and you know it!"

"Edward stop!" Bella cut in.

"No Bella, she has to know what could have happened." He turned back to Tara. "That was very foolish of you to think you two are even ready for..." Tara cut him off when she leaped across the room and stood directly in front of him growling. She balled her fists tightly and purposefully though of ways to physically hurt him.

"Don't even think about it young lady! I can see every move you are going to make." He scolded her like a child.

Tara didn't like having her thoughts invaded. Edward knew her personality and that she was just being over-emotional and overreacting out of anger. "Just so you know, _had _you killed him… not only would you have taken the life of one of my closest friends, you would have broken our treaty with our allies. Do you even understand that?" Edward hissed.

Tara felt even worse now than before. She looked at Seth and realized the damage she could have done. She couldn't speak because she became too overwhelmed with anguish and guilt. She stormed out of the room.

"Tara wait!" Seth tried to move but Carlisle had his iron grip on him."What the hell was that for?" Seth growled as he turned to Edward. He didn't like the way Edward spoke with her at all. "She was already feeling horrible enough as it is, why did you have to gut her like that?"

"Because she's inexperienced and naïve. She needs to know how badly this could have ended for everyone."

"You're _seriously _not going to be this much of a hypocrite are you Edward? After all you went through with Bella? You're gonna lecture _her_?" Seth pointed out.

"I know_._ And I was lucky. I could have made the same mistake. That's exactly why I'm telling her this so she knows too. I just want her to know what she's dealing with here. I don't want either of you to get hurt. You have to be more careful that that. She could have broken more than a couple ribs, you're lucky she didn't crush your skull."

"Yeah, well she wasn't even touching my skull!" he said sarcastically.

Emmett and Jasper snickered as they listened from out in the hall. Emmett whispered to Jasper. "Yeah it definitely could have been worse than his skull I think." He and Jasper snickered.

Seth rolled his eyes, giving them an angry glare.

"You're too emotional about this Seth, you're not thinking with your head," Edward continued.

Emmett and Jasper snickered even more. "Oh I think he was," Jasper mumbled to Emmett and made him roar with laughter.

"All right, that's enough out of you two! Everyone out, I wanna talk to Seth alone." Carlisle demanded.

Everyone quickly obeyed and moved out of the room. He shut the door behind them so they could talk privately. Seth slowly slid off the table. "How do you feel about her?" Carlisle asked him.

"I love her."

"Have you told her that?"

"No. I only told her about the imprint and I was shocked at how well she took it. I just don't wanna mess things up. If she feels the same way, she'll tell me. I don't wanna push it."

"Okay, then. I suggest you wait till she can handle things with you then. This is all new territory. She has to get used to the fact that you're not indestructible."

"Can she?" he worried.

"Oh, I think so. Edward and Bella figured it out and Bella doesn't have the healing capabilities you do. Just give her some time. She doesn't know her own strength around you. Edward once told me it was easier than fighting off the desire for blood, and that's not something you have to worry about with her. I think with time she'll figure it out, but…be careful regardless. I don't want to have to be treating you for injuries on a daily basis."

Seth nodded. "Think she's pretty upset, I need to go talk to her. Thanks for everything Carlisle."

"You're welcome." He patted his shoulder.

Seth walked down the hallway. He hoped Tara hadn't left the house since he wasn't in any condition to chase her. He decided to check Renesmee's room. "Tara?" he spoke softly as he stepped through the doorway.

There was no reply.

Seth stepped into the room farther. He finally spotted her sitting behind the bed on the floor. Her legs were tucked in closed to her body and she wrapped her arms around them and them burying her face in her knees. "Hey," he said to her as he started walking closer.

She didn't move. He couldn't quite tell, but it appeared as though was crying from the way she looked. Then he heard the faint sobs. "_Hey_," he said again but in a more soothing tone. He went right to her side and knelt down next to her. It was a painful movement for him but he didn't even think twice about it. He put his hand on her shoulder.

"Tara, look at me." He said.

She lifted her head and grimaced. "What are you doing? You should be resting," she said.

Seth was clutching his ribs."I can't rest if I know you are upset." He looked at her face. "Are you…crying?" he asked her as he touched her chin with his fingers.

"I don't know if you can call it that."

"No tears," he wiped her cheek as if he were wiping away a tear from her face. It felt completely smooth and dry.

"No, we only feel the pain and there's no way to release it so it stays bottled up. It's agonizing for us."

"Well stop. Don't do that to yourself."

"I can't help it Seth, I'm so disgusted with myself. Edward was right."

"No, he shouldn't have said all that to you. I know you didn't mean to hurt me. Things just got carried away. I half expected this to happen."

"What? You expected it? You _knew_ I'd hurt you?"

"Well you're a vampire Tara, I know your strength. You've displayed it quite thoroughly to me before, especially when you're mad. I'm actually kinda surprised this isn't something that happened sooner."

"That's because I have excellent control when I'm in a fight, even when I angry I control my actions better. But when you touch me or kiss me…I just turn to mush. I wasn't thinking about my actions. That's very dangerous for you."

"Mush?" Seth laughed. "Really? Is that what I do to you?"

She didn't like him laughing at the situation. "Yes…since you find that so amusing….It takes every ounce of strength in me not to pin you down and…." Tara stopped talking abruptly, realizing she'd said way too much.

"And… _what_?" Seth became ever so curious now.

Tara shook her head. She definitely said too much and she knew he wouldn't let her avoid it. She stuck her head between her knees again and covered her face, not looking him in the eyes. "Have my way with you," she mumbled.

Both Seth's eyebrows went up. "Oh..."

She sighed. Then she turned her head towards him again. "You understand very little about what vampires crave don't you." she said.

"I know they crave blood," he answered.

"Yes, that's not all though, we're very sensual and carnal creatures usually guided by our appetites, especially new vampires, it's much worse for them. As I think you know, most vampires are very, animalistic, they lack feelings, emotions, they have no conscience. That part of us sometimes gets lost when we lose our humanity. But I've worked very hard to try and hold onto mine, and when I was strong enough, I was able to remove myself from that world. But unfortunately that left me with nothing….unable to fit in anywhere, and being alone has been hard on me. But since I have been with you though,…you've wakened something in me I thought I had lost forever. I've never felt this way around anyone. I feel like I can't be close enough to you, even when you are standing right in front of me. And touching you...it's like nothing I've ever felt before. You're so unbelievably warm and soft. I've just never experienced a human before."

"Um….so…. what _have_ you experienced?" Seth wondered. Tara's eyes opened wide. Then she looked away, embarrassed by his question. "Oh…uh...I'm sorry. That was inappropriate of me. I shouldn't have asked that."

Tara took Seth's hand in both of hers. She gently caressed his palm feeling the warmth of his skin on her fingertips. "You need rest. Let's find you a bed," she said.

"The couch will be just fine. I'd rather be sitting inclined."

Tara nodded, helping him. He took Tara's hand and walked with her to the living room and sat on the couch with a groan then let out a large exhale when he was put his head back and closed his eyes. She stood there unsure of what to do with herself. "I should probably leave you to rest," she said making a gesture to leave.

Seth's eyes popped open and he lifted his head again. "No, stay…please." He held his hand out to her.

She walked back to him and took his hand and sat next to him. They looked at each other quietly for a while. Then she looked down. His palm was in hers and she stroked the back of his hand feeling its warmth. Touching a human was always an exhilarating experience but she never imagined being intimate with one. Humans only feared her. She always made her feedings quick, never paying close attention to them, never getting too personal. But discovering the experience of feeling his heated blood pumping through his veins while his soft flesh pressed against hers was inebriating. She had a new found desire for her new human companion.

Tara curled up her body next to Seth's, watching him as he started to nod off. She had too much on her mind however and couldn't resist the urge to talk."Seth?" She caressed his arm as she spoke.

"Hmmm?" he mumbled back as he began to doze.

"May I ask you something personal?" She looked as his hand while she spoke running her fingertips over is palm and over each finger.

"Sure," he mumbled as he was drifting off.

"Have you ever…?" she trailed off without finishing.

"Ever what?" he wondered.

"Are you… a virgin?"

Seth eyes shot open. His state of relaxation was completely blown away by her question. "Uh, where did _that_ come from?"

"I dunno. I was just thinking about...things. I mean it doesn't matter to me whether you are or not…I was just curious. I could've just assumed it based on your age but you really never know. From what I can remember boys didn't always wait till they were married, even in my day."

"Well, just for the record, I'm not a _boy_, I'm eighteen. I own a business, and I'm the oldest male of my household now. So in _my_ world, that makes me a grown man. But to answer your question honestly…," he sighed and rolled his eyes. "…._yes_, I am still a virgin."

She squeezed his hand has gently as she could. "That's very honorable. I think it's great that you have the choice and yet you waited this long. It's quite unheard of these days."

"Yeah, well, I guess I just want it to be with the right one, ya know?"

"It's very sweet," she smiled at him, still caressing his hand. Tara quietly watched him for a while as she thought. She wanted to answer his question from earlier, but feared his reaction to her answer. "I had a mate," she finally confessed.

Seth's head came off the couch. She had his full attention now.

"It's not what you think though. It's not something you could understand, but I will try to explain."

Seth listened intently as Tara opened up to him.

"I didn't choose it really. It just worked out that way. He was my maker…the one who bit me. His name was Derek. He hadn't been with the Volturi for very long at the time. He was a new born they took in only because of his rare gift, like they did with me."

"You fell in love with the one who turned you?" he said in almost a whisper.

"No, I didn't love him." She shook her head.

"Then why were you his mate?"

"I told you, it wasn't by choice." Her eyes met his. She could see Seth didn't like the sound of that.

"Have you ever heard of Stockholm Syndrome?" she asked.

Seth nodded. "I think so."

"It was something like that, but in my case it was more out of obedience and loyalty."

"Because he created you?" he asked.

"I suppose. I hated him at first. I hated all of them. But eventually it was the only life I knew. He was the only one I had to turn to. I had no choices." She paused for a moment then spoke again. "I told you, vampires have certain cravings. New borns crave blood but also…." She didn't finish the sentence, but Seth understood.

"Derek was always the one to feed me. I became dependant on him until I finally… desired it." She looked away shamefully. "I'm sorry I just wanted to be honest with you."

He squeezed her hand. "Thank you, but you don't have to be sorry." Seth tried to recall all the names of the Volturi that came to Forks. He wondered if he had actually seen him before. "Is he still there? I don't remember a Derek, but there were so many of them, it's hard to say."

"No, never came to Forks. He's dead."

"Dead?"

"Yes, I killed him. It was the only way I could escape. Needless to say Aro was not pleased and I'm not sure he has not forgotten, even to this day."

"Why did you decide to leave?" he asked. He could see she looked very reluctant to tell him.

"Because of my abilities, they used me to retrieve tourists for feedings. I always brought them to the same room I was turned in." She took another long pause before she continued. "One time while I was feeding, something caught my attention in the room. It was something shiny from under one of the pieces of furniture. It was my locket. As soon as I saw the pictures of my parents, I remembered. I remembered what I used to be and what they did to me. The next time Derek and I went out to hunt, I killed him and fled. I could have just ran and hid from him, but I wanted him to pay. I wanted to destroy him for what he'd done to me." Her eyes became darker as she spoke.

Seth sat completely silent. Tara looked at his face and could see it was a lot for him to absorb but he never once looked at her with disgust in his expression. His eyes always looked upon her with affection.

"I think I've said enough. I'll tell you more later, if still want me to. I think you should sleep now," she whispered to him.

Seth nodded. He slid down into the couch in the most comfortable position he could find and closed his eyes. Tara sat close to him and stroked his face until he fell asleep.

**A few hours passed**…. Tara never moved from her spot. Once Seth fell asleep she just stayed with him, watching him sleep. Occasionally she touched his face or his hand. She observed his breathing and listened to his calm heart beat. He was in a comfortable dream state. She let her hand wander down his neck feeling the beat of his pulse, then continued on down to his chest each of his pectoral muscles though his shirt. She let her fingertips glide down the side of his body until she found his rib cage being as gentle as she could. At one point he moaned and she pulled her hand back quickly thinking perhaps she was hurting him but it really wasn't the case at all. She tried it again, being even more careful, letting her hands wander up and down his arms. She turned her head slightly to see Edward standing in the room with an odd look on his face. She sighed, "Oh...were my thoughts too loud for you again?" she said in a sarcastic tone.

"Um…sorry, I didn't mean to intrude but _yes_, I could hear them a little too clearly."

Tara just sighed. "Well it's impossible not to think about him. You'll just have to start tuning me out."

"I understand…that part about it being impossible to stop thinking about him. I understand that more than you know."

Tara kept looking at Seth sleeping. "I'm sorry for getting angry with you."

"Apology accepted. Forgive me for being so hard on you. I only did it for your own good."

She nodded. "You were right."

"It's not impossible you know." Edward was listening again.

Tara looked him strait in the eyes. "I can only hope that's true. I can't imagine life without him."

"I can tell you, I was scared to death of hurting Bella, especially on our honeymoon. I feared I might not even bring her back alive."

"But you brought back _two _lives," she smiled.

Edward smiled too.

"Yes we did," Bella said as she had crept up from behind and wrapped her arms around Edward. "I just always knew Edward would never hurt me. I think the fear of it stood out in his mind so much he was always overly cautious with me." she explained.

"You were certainly lucky Bella. Edward was in perfect control of his actions obviously."

"It wasn't without great effort," he admitted.

"Seth could protect himself though. He's not so vulnerable when he phases."

"No he's not, but he won't hurt you. I've read his mind. He'd die first."

"I can't allow that." She looked at him sleeping peacefully.

"He's dreaming about you," Edward said.

"Then maybe you really _shouldn't_ be listening." She told him.

Edward chuckled. "It's nothing like that, otherwise I'd definitely tune it out."

Tara became silent again. She turned her attention to Seth. Edward listened to her thoughts.

"Just be much more careful," he warned.

**The next morning…**

When Seth woke, he saw Tara sitting on the couch next to him, motionless like a statue. He lifted his head. "Hi."

"Hi," she replied.

He noticed she still wore the same clothes from the date. "Did you sit here all night with me?"

"Yes. How do you feel?" she asked.

He sat up looking at his chest and rubbing his hands over the area that was in pain the night before. "Good as new," he said. "How about you? Do you feel any better?"

"Actually I had a terrible night, I couldn't sleep at all," she winked keeping the mood light.

Seth chuckled at her humor. Then he became distracted by something. "Do I smell _bacon_?"

"Yup, Esme is making you breakfast. She asked me to bring you to the kitchen when you woke up. I told her you'd probably have no trouble finding it yourself, she smirked.

"You're right about that but I'll gladly accept the escort. Lead the way."

She took his hands pulling him up and he followed her towards the aroma. Alice, Rosalie and Esme were all in the kitchen, talking quietly. Rosalie continued to express her dislike for the situation. She still had concerns about Tara and Seth drawing too much attention to the family and now there was also the added issue of her harming him and damaging their truce with the Pack. Even though Rosalie had no love for the wolves she liked that they protected Renesmee so it was to her benefit to keep them around.

Esme scooped some eggs onto a plate for Seth when the couple walked in. She made plenty for Jacob and Renesmee as well, knowing they'd be coming too. "You know you'll never get rid of me if you keep putting food out Esme," Seth joked.

"See, I warned you not to feed the strays," Rosalie snorted.

Esme nudged her to be quiet. "Well, I know humans are hungry when they wake up so I thought I'd make you something." She smiled. "And we _like_ keeping you around," she continued, giving Rosalie a darting look to make sure she kept her comments to herself.

"Thanks Esme. You're like my favorite mom-away-from-home," he complimented.

Rosalie groaned, rolling her eyes.

Tara tried to think of a comeback for her when she was distracted by something that caught her nose. "Um…what exactly did you cook?" Tara looked around the room as though she was searching for something.

Esme thought it was a strange thing to ask. "Just some eggs…bacon and toast, why?"

"Don't tell me you're thinking about eating _human_ food now," Rosalie said sarcastically.

Tara wrinkled her nose. "Don't you _smell_ that?" she asked the three of them.

They all three quickly came to attention like they were alerted by some sort of inner alarm that just went off. Then they heard the most blood curdling scream come from upstairs. They all quickly flew out of the kitchen and ran to Renesmee's room.

Seth followed as quickly as he could at his human speed. When he entered, he saw the four vampires fixing their eyes on Renesmee whose clothes were stained with blood.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: ****Changes**

"What's wrong Ne.…? Oh, wow!" Tara gasped when she saw Renesmee.

The smell of blood hit them like a wall as they entered. All of them stood in the doorway staring at Renesmee who had some very obvious physical changes in her appearance since the last time they all saw her

She stood beside her bed trembling, staring at her sheets that were stained in red. "I - I'm bleeding!"

Seth gasped when he saw the blood. Immediately fearing for her safety, he leaped in front of her putting himself between her and the four vampires, worried that they might become ravenous from the smell.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Tara questioned his behavior as though it was odd.

"There's blood!" he said in a panicky tone.

The vampires all snickered.

"Don't worry about it, Seth, it's not the right _kind_ of blood," Esme said as she stepped toward them. She put her hand on his shoulder calmly to show him she wasn't going to hurt anyone.

"Huh?" He looked confused and wondered if Renesmee's blood was unlike a human's blood but that wasn't the case at hand.

Esme walked past Seth and put her arm around Renesmee to calm her. "It's okay, sweetie. I think you're just menstruating. Your body's just changing again," she said to her with a smile.

Renesmee gasped with excitement and her eyes lit up.

"What?" Seth was taken by surprise. He didn't expect that one.

"Carlisle and I weren't sure if this was even possible or when it would happen but he'll be really surprised to hear it's happened this quickly," Esme continued. She couldn't wait to call him at work and tell him the news. "Apparently you've had another growth spurt," she finished.

"I'll say! Wow, Ness, you sure look um….different!" Tara said as she stared at Renesmee's body.

Renesmee looked down at her chest. "Oh my gosh!" She ran to the mirror and looked at her new curvier figure in the reflection. "Holy cow! A lot _has_ changed!" she squealed.

Rosalie became ecstatic. She knew this meant that Renesmee could bear children. She ran over to her and hugged her blissfully. Alice already began planning a shopping trip for her.

When Jasper and Emmett heard the commotion they came and stood in the doorway with curiosity. Once they realized what had happened they both groaned, having no interest in such a feminine matter.

Still concerned about the blood issue however, Seth wanted to make sure Renesmee would be safe. "Wait...you mean this isn't a problem? This doesn't affect you?"

"'Course not. silly…it's dead blood. It's not even appealing," Tara said, scrunching her nose.

Emmett rolled his eyes "Yeah, dude, not in the _least_!"

Seth let out an enormous sigh of relief. "Oh, well, good cuz I'm _so_ outta this conversation then!"

Esme chuckled, patting his shoulder. "Go eat your breakfast. The girls can handle this one."

Seth patted Renesmee on the arm. "Uh, yeah, way to go Ness, or congrats, or, uh...something…" He tried to politely keep his eyes on her face as she had clearly outgrown the pajamas she had on. "Can't wait to see the look on Jake's face when he comes over," he chuckled as he started to leave the room.

Emmett also searched for an excuse to leave. He quickly looked at his watch. "Uh yeah, I think there's a Knicks game on, you wanna go watch that with me, Jasper?" he hinted.

"Definitely!" Jasper agreed even though he hated the Knicks. He just wanted to get out of the room.

Tara's eyes fixed on Seth as he walked through the door looking at her to see if she was staying or not. "Um, if you guys don't mind I'm gonna go with Seth," Tara excused herself.

Rosalie turned her head and gave her a sour look.

Tara truly felt happy for Renesmee but she wasn't the slightest bit interested in the subject of her menstrual cycle. It was one of those bothersome human experiences she no longer missed, like bath room trips or illness. However it also reminded her she would never have the experience of bearing a child. She completely desired to leave the room before they began a conversation about bra shopping.

A short while later, when Jacob finally showed up, Esme greeted him at the door. "Good morning, Jacob," she said cheerfully.

"Hi, Esme. Ness roll outta bed yet? I thought we'd hit the beach again while this weather holds out on us."

"Mmm, Jacob, I don't think Ness will be able to go to the beach today, something's happened." She put her hand on his shoulder.

"What's wrong? Is she sick?"

She detected the panic in his tone. "No, no. She's fine but I think I'll let her tell you. You might wanna go see her. She's upstairs," she said trying to calm him.

Jacob was worried now. He ran up the stairs, skipping steps as he climbed to the top. He ran to her room and looked in. "Ness?" He called out.

"Jacob?" Her voice called back to him, but not from her room. It came from down the hall.

He started to pass the bathroom door which was closed, when he heard her voice call to him again. "I'm in here."

He knocked. "Are you decent? Can I come in? What's wrong?" he said in a panicky tone.

Renesmee swung open the door. Alice and Rosalie stood in the bathroom with her, helping her fit into some new clothing. They had to grab some of Rosalie's clothes since all of the other girl's things were too small for her.

Jacob noticed the changes immediately. She clearly lost all childlike features in her appearance especially with the help of Alice who was already fitting her in new outfits that displayed her new figure all too well. Jacob gasped when he saw her. His eyes widened. "Uhhhh.." was all he could say at first glance.

"Jake!" Renesmee cried excitedly. She was dying to see him. She was thrilled about her new changes, hoping Jacob would feel the same. She threw herself at him wrapping her arms around him in an embrace.

Jacob suddenly felt every curvy addition to her new body and he suddenly became edgy. "Ness! W-what happened?"

"Ness went through some changes last night," Alice explained.

"Yeah, I can see that!" "_And feel it, too_," he thought.

Renesmee stood even taller now. Her head came to his chin which was several inches higher than she stood the day before. She still had her arms around Jacob. He tried to figure out where to place his hands on her. Renesmee stared at Jacob's face waiting for a response. As he stared back completely speechless, he became flooded with emotions and attractions that he hadn't felt before and it made him very nervous. The change was a little too fast for him to absorb so quickly. His heart beat faster and he began to sweat. He became lost in her gaze she held him tightly in her arms staring, waiting for a reaction from him. Unable to wait any longer, she leaned in slowly towards his face and pressed her lips to his.

She had patiently waited for this moment to occur; when she would move into her adolescent stages of life and start to catch up to Jacob.

At first Jacob closed his eyes and let her kiss him but within seconds he felt a surge of desire and he panicked, forcing her back.

"Jacob, why are you pushing me away?" she pouted.

"I- I'm not. You just caught me off guard. What's happened to you?"

"Ah, I think puberty happened," Alice informed him. "Can't you _see_?" She waved her hands up and down in Renesmee's direction pointing out her body to him.

"Yeah, I _do_ see. I think I'm just in shock. You mean all this all happened in _one_ night?"

"Apparently. I had a growth spurt." She smiled.

"Uh, that's putting it mildly. Is there anything else?"

"Um…yes." Renesmee was hesitant to tell him.

He put his hand on her cheek. "What? _Tell me_." He was almost afraid of knowing.

"I got my period."

"You what?" he gasped.

Renesmee looked over to Alice for some guidance.

"She's menstruating, Jacob. You _do_ know what that is right, or do I need to explain that to you, too?" Alice questioned with intended sarcasm.

"Yes, I know what _that_ is." He didn't even look at Alice. He just continued to stare at Renesmee. He looked her in the eyes and then reached out and touched her face trying to make it all feel real to him.

"Wow," was all he could say at the moment.

Renesmee's grin grew wider. She hoped he was as happy about it as she was.

"So is that all then? Do you feel okay, sweetie?" he asked her lovingly while caressing her cheek.

She nodded. "I'm fine. I'm _better_ than fine! Jacob…do you know what this means?"

He just at her stared blankly and then shook his head.

"Jake! It means we could have kids, if we want to… that is…if _you_ want to."

Renesmee was very sure she wanted to have children but she wasn't quite so sure about Jacob's feelings on the matter.

He hadn't thought about the subject too extensively. He never wanted to get his hopes up. Not to mention he wasn't even allowed to think about intimacy with her yet let alone family planning.

"Jacob…don't just stand there, say something to me!" Renesmee started to get misty-eyed, worrying that he wasn't pleased by about the news.

"Aw, come here," he said as he reached out and grabbed her, pulling her into him. He embraced her tightly and buried his face in her long brown curls.

"I'm happy, I truly am," he whispered. "I just didn't expect all this so suddenly. I thought it would be a more gradual change for you."

"You're really happy?"

"Yes, I promise." He assured her.

She squeezed him tighter. "Love you, Jacob Black."

"Love you too, Ness." He stroked her long hair and they held each other for a long while. As they embraced, they didn't even noticed Alice and Rosalie had stealthily slipped out to give them privacy.

In the kitchen, Tara offered to help clean up so Esme could spend time with Renesmee. As Seth finished his breakfast, he noticed a change in Tara's mood and that she had suddenly become very quiet. "It's going to be nice out today. Do you wanna go to the beach?" he offered, trying to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Sure, that'd be great. Maybe I could find away to finish you off and all your friends could watch." Her tone was sour.

Seth's fork clanged as it fell to the plate. "Where did _that_ come from?"

"_That_…came from my rational side," she snapped.

"Your rational side? Okay, well, I don't like it," he snapped back. "Tell your rational side to go take a hike so I can talk to whatever side of you that was on a date with me last night."

"Oh... you mean the one that nearly killed you?"

Seth sighed. "So what now? Are we back to this '_I'm no good for you_' stuff again? I had a great time with you last night despite the little mishap."

"Little _mishap_? Is that all you see it as?"

"Tara, I can deal with the obstacles in the road as we come to them but not if you're gonna gut yourself every time something goes wrong. Every couple has problems. No relationship is perfect, you know."

"Normal couples have _normal_ problems. This isn't about something trivial like who's gonna take out the trash. Most boyfriends don't have to worry about their girlfriends killing them."

"Wow, I guess that confirms that you really _haven't_ been in a relationship before!"

His sarcasm didn't amuse her. She crushed the dish in her hand and the pieces crumbled to the floor.

"Look Tara, we're _not_ normal so we're _not_ gonna have normal problems. I expect that."

"I know, you admitted that to me last night," she grumbled.

"Okay, so what's the problem then?"

She put her hands on the counter and leaned in towards him. "The problem is you are too accepting of all this. What's wrong with you, Seth? Why are you so damn nice? Did the imprinting take away all common sense from you?"

"Are you serious? Are you really complaining that I'm too _good_ to you?"

"Yes! I break your ribs and you don't even care! I nearly killed you in the woods and you would have let me had Jacob not been there to stop it. It's not right. Why doesn't this even faze you? You don't even get mad."

"How can I get mad at you? It's not like you did this stuff on purpose."

"Well if I did, I don't think you would even do anything about it either. I don't want to take you out of your element. It's your nature to defend and protect and if I attack you, even by accident, you should respond accordingly to that. That's what you're made to do. I can't live with the fact that if I tried to hurt you, you wouldn't even protect yourself or the ones you love. You're sister and the others were right, they were smart to be worried about you."

"You wanted to be trusted and I trust you. You're out of your element here, too you know. It's your nature to hunt humans but you choose not to. I'm not worried that you will hurt anyone and I'm not worried about you hurting me, not intentionally anyway."

"Oh, so if I kill you by mistake that makes it perfectly okay?" Her tone was pure bitterness.

"I didn't say that. I'm just saying…" She didn't let him finish.

"What? That you _believe _I won't? That's not enough. If ever my natural instincts ever took control of me I would become dangerous and you'd allow it. I can't have that, it's just wrong. What if I couldn't stop myself last night? What if the guilt didn't set in and I took over and did even more damage? Would you have stopped me?"

He said nothing.

Suddenly she slipped right in front of him, staring him in the eyes. He felt her cold breath on his lips as she spoke. "I could kill you right now. You're weak as a human, but if you phased you'd at least have a chance."

"I won't hurt you and I know you _won't_ kill me."

She frowned. "Then you're just a _stupid_ creature." She backed away from him. Her face was hard and cold.

That cut Seth to the bone. He scowled then stood up shoving the chair across the room and stormed out of the house to head towards his bike. The door slammed shut behind him, alarming everyone in the house.

It was not the reaction she'd hoped for.

Before Seth could get on his motorcycle however, something grabbed him from behind and he was thrown across the yard. He lifted his head up in a daze, looking to see what it was that hit him.

Tara was drilling towards him. "Tara! W-what are you doing?" he shouted.

"Killing you!" she said as she grabbed him again.

"What? Stop this, it's not funny!"

"I'm _not_ joking," she snarled viciously. She picked him up and grasped his arm tightly and he screamed painfully.

"Do something then!" she challenged.

"What? What do you want me to do?"

"Protect yourself! I won't stop until you do!"

"Let go! I don't want to fight you! I know you're not going to kill me."

"Do you? You don't know anything then! I could have killed you last night, remember?"

"It was just an accident!" He shouted.

She growled louder and leaped at him landing on top of him. Her eyes were black as coal and she barred her teeth at him. She hit him in the face trying to provoke him. He coughed and gasped begging her to stop.

"You better stop me before I lose control Seth, because I think I'm starting to enjoy this. This is what vampires _do, _remember? You need to see the _real_ me."

"This is not the real you. Get off me! Why are you doing this?"

The commotion drew the attention of the entire household. Even Edward and Bella who lived near-by heard the commotion and Edward was able to tune in to their thoughts as he got closer. As soon as Jacob came out of the house, he phased and got ready to pounce. Edward rushed at him at lightning speed and grabbed him quickly. "Wait," he said to him

"_She's lost her mind! She's gonna kill him_!" Jacob warned him.

"Trust me," Edward said.

The vampires were all on edge, ready to intervene.

Tara sat on top of Seth. "So, you'd let me kill you?"

"No!" he gasped.

"Then fight me off! Do your job!"

"NO! Get off me Tara! Stop this now!"

She growled and clawed at Seth's chest tearing open the skin. It made him growl. Part of it was from the pain but the other half was the anger swelling up inside him. He didn't like this side of Tara one bit.

Suddenly she smelled the fear and the adrenaline and she liked it. It started to put her into a frenzy. They were the two elements that boosted a vampire's desire to hunt and kill. She was getting close to wanting to bite him now as the excitement stirred in her. Edward listened intently to her thoughts knowing to intervene the second she lost control if it were to happen.

She grabbed him by the throat with one hand pinning him and then tore his shirt with the other. She snarled at him with her razor sharp teeth. Seth struggled uselessly beneath her. She dug her claws into his neck. He screamed again.

A low rumble came from his chest and then suddenly, it happened. Seth violently threw her across the yard as his entire body morphed into a great wolf. He leaped up and crashed into her with a mighty force, pinning her to the ground with all fours. He snapped and snarled at her. Then he let out an enormous roar that froze her like a statue. His pointy sharp fangs were only inches from her face.

Tara's eyes widened as she lay there completely still and submissive. She finally got the response she hoped for, wanting to know if Seth would defend himself and stop her if she ever lost control.

Seth nearly lost control himself however. He become so enraged, he nearly bit into her neck and tore it out. He stopped himself before it went that far. He panted heavily, staring at her pitch black eyes. Then he suddenly realized what he'd done and backed off.

She sat up and looked at him calmly. "And there it is… the monster I was looking for," she said.

Seth instantly paused. He calmed down realizing what he'd just done. He looked at the others and then back at Tara. Then he moaned sadly and ran off into the forest. Tara hung her head and sighed as she watched him leave.

"Why did she _do _that?" Renesmee asked.

"It was something that had to be done," Edward said as he let go of Jacob. He listened to Tara who was wondering if she would be forgiven.

"I don't understand. One of them could have been killed," she said.

"She thought it was better to give it a chance this way than to find out later the hard way," Edward explained.

Renesmee just shook her head.

Jacob broke free from Edward and started to run after Seth. "Let him go, Jacob. Give him some time to cool off!" Edward shouted to him.

Jacob stopped and turned back to look at Edward_. _"_No, he's my friend and he needs me right now. Take care of Ness for me until I get back." _And he was gone_._

Edward, who was too caught up in the moment to even notice at first, caught a glimpse of his daughter in the corner of his eye. He very slowly turned his head to get a full look at her noticing the changes immediately. Bella already had her arms around her with an enormous smile on her face.

"Hi Dad! Guess what?" she squealed with a grin.

Edward's eyes grew as large as saucers. She didn't even need her to say another word. He just brought his hand up to his face and he groaned.

Several hours had passed and the sun started to set behind the horizon.

Tara sat at the window, silently staring out. She hadn't moved from the spot in hours. She hated what she did, but she knew she was better off living with the guilt of hurting Seth this way instead of the guilt from doing something much worse later on.

Then Tara heard the familiar sound of a bike humming up the road. She zipped to the door and when she opened it she saw him pulling in to the yard. He sat very still with the engine still running and a blank stare on his face. Through the visor, she saw his dark and bleak expression. His eyes shifted to hers and he nodded his head in a way that signaled her to get on. She zipped out and hopped on the bike and he drove off.

Seth took her to a deserted cliff top. As soon as he parked, she hopped off the bike.

He sat there, not moving or even looking at her and still with the same dark expression. The echoing sound of the waves crashed below. Each waited for the other to say something.

Finally Tara sighed and started to speak. "Seth…" His eyes looked in her direction, seeing the anguish in her face. He removed his helmet and listened. "Look... I'm really sorry for..."

Before she finished, he leaped off the bike and pressed his lips to hers for a long kiss. His fingers knotted in her hair and he let his helmet fall to the ground so he could pull her in tight. This time she remembered to be careful, holding him gently as her arms slid around his waist. When they slowly parted, he didn't let go of her. He pressed his forehead against hers, loosening his fingers in her hair and pressing his warm hand against the back of her neck.

She exhaled deeply. "I didn't finish my apology," she whispered.

He pulled his head back and looked into her eyes. "Okay… go ahead." His eyes looked warmer now.

"I'm sorry. Will you forgive me?"

"I'm _thinking_ about it." His eyes looked away.

"Well….does the kissing help?"

He shrugged. "A little," he admitted.

When she leaned in to kiss him again, he stopped her, putting a finger to her lips."Tara…" His eyes smoldered again. "I wanted to _kill_ you today."

"That's good."

"Good?" He let go of her. "How's that good?"

"Because I know at least if anything did ever go wrong between us, you'd do the right thing."

He sighed. "I hated myself for feeling that way."

"You told me it tormented you knowing that you could never go through with carrying out your duties, because you said you could never hurt me. Now you're sad that you know you could? You can't win, Seth."

He nodded. "I know."

"So… what now?" She shrugged.

He stood there, silently thinking.

"Can you take it back?" she asked.

"Take what back?"

"The imprint on me - then you'll be free."

"No, it doesn't work that way. I can't control it. And even if I could…I wouldn't. I don't want to be set free."

"Oh right, because it's much better to trapped in a relationship with someone who's turned your life upside down."

"I don't see it that way."

She sighed. "No, of course you wouldn't because that would make _sense_."

"Is that what you _want_? Do you want me to set you free?" Just the thought of it pained him.

"Of course not, silly. Why would I desire to give up someone like you? You're the pinnacle of everything good. You're sweet and caring and selfless. You just had the misfortune of imprinting on a vampire but that's not your fault. Me however…I'm a selfish being as I've said. I surely don't want to give you up and go back to my miserable lonely life but…if I know it would improve yours….then I would do it, because it's the right thing to do."

He touched her face gliding the back of his fingers down her cheek. "And that's one of the reasons why…" His eyes stared at her with a deep affection. "I'm _so_ in love with you."

She smirked shaking her head. "You really _are_ a stupid creature…but I love you too."

He chuckled. Longing to hear her say those words, he embraced her close, wrapping his arms around her back. He touched his warm lips against her ear and whispered. "And I forgive you."

She smiled and laid her head against his chest. "So I guess we're just doomed to be together?"

He sighed. "Mmm, I guess so." He held her tighter.

"I'm very glad you stopped me today. I was starting to think you really wouldn't."

He lifted his head to look at her. "You know, that was completely reckless thing to do to try to figure that all out."

"Yeah well, I'm vampire. It's what we do. We're a reckless race."

"Yeah, so I've noticed." He smiled and then leaned down to kiss her lips that eagerly waited for them.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: The Ball Game**

**A new day….**

Tara sat on the bed with her sketch book in hand. Her pencil whisked over the paper rapidly. She almost looked like she was in under a spell as she drew incessantly. She patiently waited for Seth to come by since he promised to spend the day with her. They were going to start the day with a hunt but as usual, he over-slept. When he finally arrived at the house, he quietly crept up to the room. Upon hearing the sound of her pencil moving from outside the door, he peeked in. She didn't even look up as he entered and tip-toed across the room and then sat on the bed next to her. He was feeling guilty for not showing up on time.

"Sorry I'm late." He spoke softly, hoping she wasn't mad.

She smiled, rolling her eyes but still drawing.

He stared at her with fascination. Within seconds the white paper in her lap was filled with the image of a majestic cathedral.

"There's a storm coming," he said as he glanced out the window at the dark clouds that filled the sky.

"I know." She tilted her head slightly, still concentrating on her work.

"Do you hear it?" He figured she probably could hear a storm from miles away.

She suddenly stopped drawing and listened. "Almost, but I can definitely smell the rain coming. Plus, Alice told us yesterday." She continued drawing again.

"Oh…right, Alice." He peeked over her shoulder to look at her sketch. It's was nearly complete now as she finished shading the windows of a familiar building he'd remembered seeing somewhere once before. "Hey, that's really good. You doing that from memory?"

"Mmm-hmm…" Her pencil still whirled around the paper as she shaded.

"Where is that?" he wondered.

"Rome….Saint Peter's Cathedral."

He was impressed by the beautiful detail she put into it. "That's really amazing."

She paused and looked him in the eyes, flattered by his sincerity. "Thanks," she said, delighted by his compliment.

"Welcome." He smiled.

He wanted to kiss her but she spoiled the opportunity when she turned her attention back to the paper again and continued. Her expression became more serious again.

Seth eyes became fixed on her again, taking pleasure in watching her work. It was futile trying to keep up with the movement of her hand as it spun around the paper in a blur. His averted his gaze up her bare arm until it reached her shoulder. Her blue tank top exposed the flawless, ivory skin on her arms. He lifted his hand and gently brushed the silky wisps of hair off her neck. It made her tense up but she didn't stop drawing. It wasn't until he leaned over and pressed his lips to the bottom of her neck that she froze completely, closing her eyes. "Umm, w-what are you doing?" she sighed.

"Distracting you," he grinned devilishly. "It seems to be working."

She bit her lip as he continued to softly kiss a trail to her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, should I stop?" He asked while letting his fingertips slide down her arm, right down to her hand and back up again.

"No please continue, I was kinda in the mood to break some more of your bones," she said in a sarcastically musical tone.

He chuckled. "Mmm, me too. I guess I must be one of those masochists then."

"Yes, I'm starting to think you are," she agreed. She opened her eyes when he reached over and touched her chin, turning her face towards his.

"You're eyes are still a pretty gold, I think I'm still safe for the time being," he said, knowing her eyes darken when she gets too excited.

"Then perhaps you shouldn't push your luck." She playfully tapped him on the head with her pencil.

He smiled, giving up for the moment. As she continued to finish her picture, he reached down and picked up another one of her a sketch books off the floor and flipped through the pages. The first one was of Bella and Edward at the museum embracing each other. The second was of portrait of Renesmee. He flipped through, drawing by drawing of each family member until he stopped at one that caught his interest. It was a drawing of a very familiar tan wolf, standing on a cliff. "Hey, when did you do this one?" he wondered.

She glanced at it from the corner of her eye without stopping. "Mmm… a while ago."

He continued flipping the pages. There were more wolf drawings throughout the book. "Wow, you were like _obsessed_ with me….and you accused _me_ of stalking _you_," he teased.

"Tsk!" She calmly reached over to grab the calmly book but he moved his arm away from her.

"Come on now, lemme see." He said as he grabbed her wrist in an attempt to stop her from taking it.

She sighed. "You're really not gonna try this again are you, cuz you know you will lose."

Seth knew he didn't stand a chance against her strength but it amused him to try and muscle his way out of the situation, knowing she'd surely succeed in tackling him. He enjoyed the cat and mouse game with her only because he trusted she wouldn't hurt him. She was very carefully not to use too much force as he struggled pointlessly to keep the object in hand. Tara effortlessly pinned his arm down, then stretched across him to get the book. She paused as her body pressed against his and their eyes met. In her moment of distraction he slid his arm around the waist and then playfully spun her onto the bed. He grinned, feeling victorious, even though she let him do it. When he leaned in to kiss her, she flipped him over hurling him onto the floor on his back and then leaped on top of him pinning his arms down. "Ooof, ow!" he said feeling a bit stunned.

She sighed shaking her head. "Mmm, when are you gonna to learn to listen?"

"Probably never," he smirked.

"I told you, you would lose at this game."

"Actually, I think I'm winning," he said, knowing he got what he wanted.

She squeezed her grip tighter on him. "Ah, ok that _does_ hurt just a little." He winced.

She leaned in close to his face tasting his heady breath. "I think you really do need to learn the hard way."

"Is this all supposed to scare me? Cause it's actually kinda turning me on," he teased.

She grinned shaking her head. Then she loosened her grip to get up. "You like danger too much."

As soon as Seth's arms were free, he grabbed her again and pulled her in tightly for a kiss. His blood boiled under his skin as his lips touched hers.

She let him have the moment, not wanting to resist anymore. She felt her body warming up as his body heat transferred to hers. Her icy skin felt scorched as he pressed it against her, burning her lips.

"Ahem!" a voice came from behind them somewhere.

Tara slowly rolled over as they both looked up at Jacob and Renesmee staring at them.

Renesmee snickered. "Do you guys mind keeping it PG? I gotta sleep I here ya know."

"Yeah guys, there _are_ children present," Jacob said pointing a finger at Renesmee.

Renesmee nudged Jacob's arm. "Hey! I'm not a child!" she complained.

"Yeah, yeah I know. You keep _reminding_ me!" He rolled his eyes and reached for her sweater, zipping it up over her chest that was a little too exposed.

She playfully swatted at him. Then she directed her attention back to Tara. "Alice says the thunderstorm isn't far. You wanna play a game tonight?"

"A game?" Tara said curiously as she rolled off of Seth and sat up.

"Yeah…baseball. It'll be fun," Renesmee said gleefully.

"Um..what about us?" Seth said, exchanging glances with Jacob as he sat up as well.

"You can't keep up, sorry," Renesmee said but then she paused, thinking for a moment. "Hmmm, though you could be Umpire," she offered.

"We can play if we phase," Seth said.

"What are you gonna bat with your teeth?" Tara laughed.

"_No_, smarty pants, you could bat for me and I'll be doing the running. We'll just be on the same team." Seth said.

"Plus we can catch," Jacob added.

"Don't you mean 'fetch'?" Tara teased.

"Har-har, very funny!" Jacob replied. Renesmee giggled at her joke and Jacob playfully tickled her making laugh harder.

"Sure why not. Baseball is probably _safer _activity for you anyway," she winked at Seth as she stood up smoothing out her blouse, leaving Seth on the floor in disappointment.

Renesmee grabbed Tara's arm gleefully and they started leaving to meet with the others. Seth gave Jacob an unpleasant look as he lay on the floor alone now.

"Hey don't worry, from the looks of things you'll probably thank me later for saving you."

"_No…_ I really don't think so," Seth frowned, shaking his head.

They all agreed to meet at the giant open field in the Olympic range. The Cullen's let Jacob and Seth take the jeep to carry the equipment and save some energy for the game. Renesmee tagged along with them for the ride. When they arrived, she grabbed their gear and met up with the others on the field so the boys could undress and phase. Once the vampires saw the two wolves appear from behind the trees, they took their positions. Thunder roared in the distance as they geared up for the game.

They flipped a coin to make teams. Emmett and Carlisle got Tara and Seth while Jacob teamed up with Edward, Bella and Rosalie. Alice took her usual position as pitcher, Esme was umpire and Jasper sat behind home plate to catch.

Carlisle's team took the field first, with Tara and Seth in the outfield and Emmett and Carlisle standing between bases.

Renesmee stepped up to the home plate twirling an aluminum bat though the air like a pro. She took her stance waiting on Alice who stood completely motionless on the pitcher's mound. Suddenly Alice moved for the windup. She moved so fast, the wolves hardly saw the throw and the ball was already in Jasper's hand with the blink of an eye.

"Strike one!" Esme called.

"Come on Ness! You can do it! Just like I showed you… keep your eye on the ball." Edward encouraged her.

She stood ready again for the pitch. Alice wound up and threw it. This time Renesmee hit the ball with a force that made thunderous crack. As soon as Jacob heard the impact he started running for first base taking huge leaps though the air.

Seth watched the ball as it soared. He took an enormous vertical bound and snatched the ball in his mouth.

"Out!" Esme shouted.

"Shoot!" Renesmee stomped her foot.

Edward stepped up to the plate next and put his arm around his daughter, kissing her on the head. "Good job sweetie. Don't worry, they won't get _this_ one."

"Go get em dad!" she cheered. Then she ran over to Bella who put her arm around her and they both watched as Edward readied himself for the pitch.

Tara took the ball from Seth and threw it back to Alice who immediately dropped it when it landed in her hand. "Ugh! Dog slobber!" she griped, wiping her hand on the front of her shirt.

The others laughed hysterically.

Alice turned around and gave Seth an unhappy look. Then she reached into a bag next to the pitcher's mound and grabbed a new ball, thankful they had extras. She then wound up for the pitch and hurled the ball at Edward. The bat made a loud boom as he smacked the ball clear across the field. Tara ran into the woods after it. They watched as she disappeared into the forest and then saw her leaping above the trees for a catch. She missed the ball by inches but within seconds it flew out of the forest through the branches. Emmett caught the ball but it was too late, Edward already stood safe at third.

Bella got ready to bat next. She loved playing sports now that she had the agility and skills for them.

"Come on Bella, send me home!" Edward yelled to her.

"This one's for you my love," she winked at him while positioning herself.

"Aw," Renesmee cooed at her parent's affection for one another.

Jacob just rolled his eyes and started making gagging noises. She waved a scolding finger at him and he playfully nudged her back with his cold wet nose making her giggle.

When Alice threw the ball, it zipped past Bella into Jasper's hand as Bella swung the bat missing the ball.

"Strike one!" Esme called out.

Emmett stood on third with Edward. He laughed and elbowed him when Bella missed the ball. "_All for you my love_," he mimicked her in mocking tone while batting his eyes at Edward.

Bella scowled at Emmett and threateningly pointed the bat at him.

Edward turned to Emmett. "I can't read her mind but I think if I had to guess what she was thinking, it's probably, _Shut your word-hole_," he said.

Bella stood ready again. "Okay, this one's really for you," she grinned.

"Let's go Bella, bring Edward home!" Rosalie shouted.

The ball flew towards Bella and this time she smacked it in Carlisle's direction but it bounced off the ground so he couldn't get it mid-air. Carlisle swiftly picked up the ball and threw it home but Edward had already slid into the plate.

"Safe!" Esme called.

They were up one now with Rosalie last to bat.

"No cheating!" Edward warned Emmett out in the field, who occasionally missed a ball when he had to play against Rosalie.

When she hit the ball, she smacked it into left field heading straight towards Tara who then leaped up and caught it. She quickly threw it to home where Bella was headed. Jasper caught it just before her toe hit the base.

"Out!" Esme shouted, making Rosalie growl.

Three outs. The teams switched.

"I'll take the outfield," Edward claimed.

"No way! Lassie takes the outfield just like _our_ team buddy. You get third this time," Emmett complained, trying to keep things even in the game.

"Don't worry dad, me and Jake got this." Renesmee said just before she high-fived Edward and then she ran to her position with Jacob near the edge of the forest.

Carlisle let Tara bat first. She'd never played baseball in her life but she had a concept of how it was done. Tara grabbed a bat and readied herself at the plate. "Am I doing this right?" she asked Esme for help.

Esme got behind her and reached around positioning her arms and legs correctly. "There, just like that." She corrected her. "Remember, keep your eye on the ball," Esme said helpfully with a smile.

"Thanks," Tara replied, focusing on Alice

"This will be an easy out," Rosalie snorted.

Tara concentrated, waiting for the ball. Seth watched her intently, waiting to run.

Alice threw the ball.

Tara got ready to swing but something caught her eye in the distance and she missed it completely.

"Strike one!" Esme yelled.

Renesmee and Jacob were dancing around the outfield shaking their rear ends at Tara trying to distract her attention. "Hey! No fair! You guys are _so_ immature!" she griped pointing her bat at them.

The other team all laughed.

"They cheat, just ignore them. Keep your eye on the ball like I said," Esme said pointing at Alice who was ready to throw again.

She stepped up again. The ball came screaming at her and she smacked it with a mighty force that sent it high in the air and it disappeared deep into the forest.

Seth bolted for first base.

"I GOT IT!" Renesmee shouted as she sprinted, disappearing to the trees.

The ball had bounced off a tree limb and landed in a small bog covered with moss and shrubbery. "_Yuk!"_She thought, as she stepped in it to pick it up.

"INCOMING!" she shouted, throwing the ball. It soared over the trees and came down in the middle of the field where Edward ran to catch it.

Renesmee started to run back when she heard the sound of a snap behind her in the distance. She quickly spun her head around looking as far as she could see but saw nothing. Her sense of smell was not as acute as the rest of the vampires but she picked up the very strong scent of a doe in heat as she sniffed the air. She shrugged her shoulders and turned back around seeing Jacob standing there. It nearly startled her. He protectively followed Renesmee to check on her when she didn't come out of the woods.

Jake hadn't noticed the mud everywhere from the heavy down pour they got earlier and he stood right in a huge puddle of it.

"Ugh!" he thought as he shook out his huge paws.

Renesmee laughed as he flicked the goop everywhere. As she laughed even harder, he started to come closer, putting his paw out like he was going to wipe it on her.

"Jacob Black, don't you dare! I swear, Alice will be furious if you get this outfit all dirty so don't even think about it!" She warned.

Jacob didn't listen. He crept towards her slowly with a toothy grin and tongue hanging out. She leaped out of the bog to dryer land but he jumped in front of her.

"I'm _warning_ you! You better not!" she giggled, failing to keep a straight face.

Just before she could run, he pounced on her and she fell on her back in the mud. "Jacob! You are _so_ gonna pay! Look at me! I'm filthy!"

Jacob knew how to take care of that for her. He began to lick her face and arms profusely making her squeal and laugh.

Renesmee thrashed about as he licked her, making so much of a commotion that she didn't even hear the click of the gun barrel… but Jacob did.

He suddenly stopped and looked over his shoulder seeing that he was faced with a double barrel shot gun about fifty meters out. Without thinking, he quickly put his entire body over Renesmee, covering her. Her laugh was the last thing he heard before the shot was fired.

The sound echoed through the forest. Jacob's blood covered Renesmee and she screamed when his body fell to the ground. She turned her head and saw the two hunters who were closing in on them fast.

The Cullen's all froze when they heard the sound of the gunshot and the shrill screams of Renesmee. They quickly raced into the forest.

"Jacob, NO!" She hovered over to his bleeding body and touched his face. He breathed shallow. His eyes turn towards her but his head remained still. Then she heard something behind her.

"Are you alright Miss?" the voice said as the man approached. Renesmee turned quickly and lunged at the hunter in a furious rage. She knocked him down and grabbed his gun, effortlessly breaking it in two.

"Oh my God!" the second man shouted. He started to raise his gun at her but she was too quick. Before he lifted the barrel she grabbed him by the throat and snarled at him fiercely. She smelled strong scent of female deer emitting from his body, the fake kind hunter's used to lure in their prey. A stream of fluid dripped out from his bottom pant leg as he trembled with fear and his gun fell to the ground. Renesmee never felt this way before. Fear and anger completely took over. She leaned close to him barring her teeth, desiring to sink them in his throat. The man screamed as she started to attack.

"Ness! Stop! Let him go!" a crackled voice said from behind her. It was Jacob. He'd phased back to a human and begged her not to kill the hunters.

Her fury dissolved once she heard his voice.

The rest of the group came into view, observing the situation. Edward knew right away the hunters had just witnessed several unexplainable events; A young girl just snapped their guns like twigs, a giant wolf just turned into a man, and now, eight very scary looking individuals accompanied by another enormous wolf just appeared out of nowhere. Both men looked like they were in shock.

Renesmee let the one man go. He ran towards his friend and they screamed as they ran away leaving their guns behind.

Rosalie started to chase them when Edward stopped her. "They're getting away! We can't let them go! They've seen too much!" she struggled with him wanted to run after the men.

"We can't hurt them, not even to protect ourselves. You know that!" Edward reminded her.

"Then just scare them! Threaten them not to say anything… do _something_! They'll go to the police!" Rosalie argued.

Carlisle was already kneeling next to Jacob, examining his wounds. "Don't worry, we know the Chief of Police, now get over here and help me!" he shouted at the both of them.

They all ran over to Jacob. His body trembled violently. Emmett removed his oversized shirt and handed it to Carlisle to cover him at the waist. Jasper sensed his fear and used his skill to calm him.

Carlisle spoke sternly. "We have to move him fast! Edward, I need you and Emmett to carry him to the jeep as fast as you can and then drive him to the house. We can't take him to the hospital. It's too risky now that there are witnesses. I will be ready for you when you arrive."

Renesmee sobbed as she held his face in her hands. As soon as they got him in the vehicle, she sat in the back seat holding him and keeping pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding.

Jacob kept his eyes fixed on her. "It hurts," he could barley whisper. "It hurts real bad."

"I know, I know," she said softly, stroking his cheek. "Hold on Jake. Don't close your eyes. Hold on for me!"

Edward drove insanely fast. The bumps were really hard on Jacob but there was little he could do. He didn't have time to be careful and slow down but he also hoped the pain would help keep him alert till they got him home. Edward listened to Jacob's thoughts. He wanted Edward to talk to Renesmee for him since he couldn't speak. "He's holding on for you Ness. He's fighting. He says he won't leave you and he loves you. Keep talking to him," he encouraged.

Her tears fell on Jacob's body. She began to ramble on to keep him awake. "I love you too Jacob. I'm gonna marry you soon and we're gonna be happy and have lots of vampire-wolf-mutant babies just like you always joked about remember? You'll see." She tried to smile through her tears.

The pain kept Jacob from smiling back but she saw a small twinkle in his eyes that let her know he liked her humor.

"That's it Ness, he's listening to you. He says, _ just as long as they are all as pretty as you_."

That made her smile and cry even more. She kept on talking to him the whole way back. Renesmee's words tore Edward's heart into pieces. He tried to push the pedal harder but it was already to the floor.

As they neared the house, Edward could hear the thoughts of Carlisle and the others as they anxiously waited for their arrival. He pulled up close to the house and carried Jacob's limp body to the same room Renesmee was delivered in. Jacob finally fell unconscious.

"Edward, you stay. I need your help. Everyone else has to go out of the room so I can work," Carlisle ordered.

Renesmee shrieked as Bella pried her hands from Jacob's. Jasper ran over to help calm her so they could get her out of the room. Carlisle instructed Edward to start an IV so he could try to stopping the bleeding.

Everyone else waited outside silently.

Carlisle moved quickly. Being at home allowed him to be much more expeditious, not having to pretend to function only at a human speed like he would at the hospital.

Jacob lost a lot of blood during the return trip but he needed to get the slugs out so he could close up the wounds. Several grueling minutes passed as he labored. Renesmee stood outside, looking into glass door that separated her from Jacob. Bella came over and put her arm around her daughter.

Jacob's heart beat started to become unsteady. His thoughts quieted and then Edward no longer heard his mind screaming in pain. Suddenly, his heart stopped and there was only silence.

"I need to intubate him, start CPR now!" Carlisle demanded.

Everyone stood frozen, staring at the room in horror.

Tears streamed down Renesmee's face. "No!" she screamed.

Bella held her tightly.

Once Carlisle had the air tube in place, he placed the electro pads for the Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to Jacob's chest and waited for a charge. Within seconds, the monotone voice from the machine gave instruction.

_"Shock Advised Stand Clear,"_ the machine spoke before it executed.

Renesmee sobbed when she saw Jacob's body jolt from the shock it sent though Jacob's body. She cringed and covered her ears trying to block the sounds. Bella embraced her, covering her head and caressing her hair. Everyone else watched with gloom on their faces.

The machine spoke again. "_Analyzing Rhythm Shock not advised Start compressions."_

"Come on Jacob! Don't do this to me!" Carlisle began doing chest compressions as the defibrillator monitored Jacob's vital signs.

The AED spoke again. "_Analyzing Rhythm Shock advised Stand clear." _

They both stood back and watched as the machine sent another charge through Jacob body causing him to thrash again but still, nothing. Carlisle started compressions again as Edward push air into his lungs.

Then Carlisle charged the machine to try once more, but his body didn't respond. "It's no use…I- I lost him," he sobbed.

Suddenly Renesmee no longer felt his presence. It was as though the connection she felt with him had been severed. She broke from Bella's grip and ran into the room. Edward let her run past him to his lifeless body. She put her hands on his face and leaned in close. "Jacob no! Please don't leave me! I love you please, please come back." She grabbed his face in her hands and touched her forehead to his as she sobbed. Moist droplets fell from her face onto Jacob's cheeks.

Everyone in the other room stood motionless and despondent. Each of the vampires held their mates in a somber embrace. Even Rosalie looked pained at the sight of Renesmee wailing over Jacob's body.

A tear ran down Seth's face as he listened to the steady hum of the heart rate monitor on the AED. It's tone rang in his ears with a stabbing resonance. He couldn't take it anymore and fled out of the house. He only made it to the edge of the yard until his legs gave out underneath him and he fell, crouched on the ground, sobbing. His best friend was gone.

Tara followed him and slowly approached from behind. It tortured her to see him in so much pain. She knelt down beside him and put her hand on his shoulder. He reached out to her and pulled her close burying his face in her shoulder and broke down in her arms.

Edward felt like someone jack-hammered his insides as he watched Renesmee begging for her Jacob, listening to every tormenting thought in her head. He remembered the moment Rosalie told him Bella was dead and the blow he felt and how he wanted nothing more than to die right there. He just couldn't bear it any longer. Edward reached for the AED unit and pressed a button on it, starting another charge.

"Edward?" Carlisle said as he grabbed Edward's hand, questioning his actions.

"We can't give up. Try again!" Edward demanded.

Carlisle knew he couldn't stop him from trying. He nodded at Edward and let go of his hand.

The machine whirred up again, ready for a charge.

Esme pulled Renesmee back so they could work. Bella came in too and they both stood with her holding her tightly.

Edward leaned down near Jacob's ear and spoke to him. "Don't you give up! Don't you dare leave her! Fight damn it!"

As the machine sent a violent pulse through Jacob's chest, they stood motionless waiting for a response.

Finally, it made the sound they had been waiting for the monitor beeped.

Then, it beeped again and the machine spoke. "_Shock not advised Rhythm detected."_

They all exhaled with relief. Bella hugged Renesmee smiling. She extended a hand out to Edward and he took it, squeezing it tightly and they exchanged smiles.

Carlisle removed the pads from Jacob's chest and started working on his wounds. He made Renesmee stay back until he could finish. Esme and Bella stood with her, huddling closely as they all watched.

The others also heard the Jacob's heart beating again and sighed with relief.

Outside, Tara still held Seth in her arms tightly. His warm tears soaked her shirt. Tara heard a commotion inside, realizing something happened. She yanked Seth to his feet and pulled him back back inside the house.

By the time they returned, Carlisle had speedily removed the slugs from Jacob's body and stitched him up. Edward helped by holding his body for him so he could reach his back.

While Carlisle worked, Jacob's body started to move. His hand grabbed Edward's arm and his eyes opened. He looked right at Edward and tried to speak but the tubes were in his way.

"_It hurts_," he thought.

"I know stay still," Edward ordered.

Jacob reached up and tried to pull the tube out of his mouth. Edward grabbed his arm. Jacob kept repeating Renesmee's name in his head.

"She's right here, she's fine. Stop struggling," Edward told him when he heard Jacob's mental cries for Renesmee.

Renesmee ran to his side. Carlisle gave him morphine and within seconds he passed out so Carlisle could finish. Jacob saw Renesmee's face just before he closed his eyes. She held his hand the entire time Carlisle labored. He worked extremely fast and got Jacob bandaged and cleaned up in perfect timing before the rest of family arrived. Charlie was informed of the news and brought Billy, over immediately. Sue accompanied them.

It pleased Carlisle that they came when they did thankful they didn't witness him nearly dying. Renesmee still sat at his side, holding his hand. Her eyes never moved off him.

"Ness, why don't you go clean up. You have Jacob's blood all over you," Edward suggested, stroking her head.

"_But I don't want to leave him," _She thought.

"He'll be fine. He's going to be sleeping for several hours. Don't worry, someone will stay with him."

Renesmee nodded. She leaned over and kissed his forehead and then started to leave the room with Bella. Before she walked through the door, she stopped and turned back, quickly wrapping her arms around Carlisle. "Thank you."

He hugged her back tenderly. "You're welcome Ness."

Renesmee hugged her father also for not giving up. Edward held her for several minutes before he let her leave.

"I love you," he whispered to her.

"_I love you too_," she thought.

Billy, Charlie and Sue all entered the room to see Jacob and receive an update from Carlisle. Billy shook Carlisle's hand and thanked everyone for saving his son. He told them he would be forever indebted to them.

Seth came in and hugged his mother, then greeted Charlie and Billy.

Tara accompanied Renesmee while she cleaned up and changed her clothes. She hurried eager to go back to Jacob.

When Renesmee finished, Tara walked with her back to Jacob's room. She planned to look for Seth but then noticed him already in the room. She also noticed the company he was with and didn't think it would be a good time to expose the lie she had created at Sue's house. She made eye contact with Seth but she backed away from the door and retreated back. Seth excused himself and followed her to Renesmee's room. He sat next to her on the bed. "Why'd you leave?" he asked.

"I just don't think this is a good time to introduce the real me. You're family has been through a lot. It would only make it worse," she explained.

"Oh." Seth thought about it. "I supposed that's true. I don't think they will be leaving any time soon though, you can't hide up here the whole time."

"I'll be fine. I can stay at least until Jacob wakes up and everyone calms down a bit. Then we'll figure it out after that," Tara said.

Seth nodded in agreement. "He'll be a sleep for a while. I'll come back in little bit. If I don't go back now though, Sue will come looking for me," he said as he reached up and stroked her hair.

"Go then," she told him. Seth kissed her forehead before he slipped out of the room.

Jacob slept for hours. Everyone took turns checking on him but Renesmee refused to leave his side at all. Charlie went back to work, deciding he would return later to check on Jacob's status, Sue sat in the kitchen for a while having coffee and visiting with Esme. Billy nodded off in his chair and Seth excused himself to take a nap in Renesmee's room, falling asleep in Tara's arms.

The rest of the vampires sat quietly and waited. They didn't need to occupy their time like the humans. They could sit motionless for hours without a distraction, although Emmett finally decided to see if there were any good sports on TV and found a good fight on one of the channels. Some of the others came in and sat, enjoying the stimulation from it.

Renesmee loyally sat at Jacob's side in the chair Edward brought in for her to sit at comfortably. She held his hand tightly in hers, caressing it through most of the night until her eyes refused to stay open anymore and she fell asleep. Her head lay in the most uncomfortable-looking position on the bed next to his leg. As she slept, she dreamt of Jacob, caressing her hair softly. Soon, she started to realize it wasn't a dream though. He really did run his hand through her soft curls. She looked up at him and he smiled at her. "Jake!" She squealed, excited to see him awake.

"Did we win?" He asked her in a very groggy tone.

"What?" she whispered.

"Did we win the game?" he asked more specifically.

Renesmee smiled. "Yup, we sure won," she confirmed, but she wasn't talking about the game but the battle for his life.

"Good. Seth owes me ten bucks then." Jacob said, referring back to the baseball game. Renesmee laughed with tears running down her face. She moved closer to him.

"Why are you crying?" he asked.

"Because, I'm just so happy you're okay."

Though his hands were still weak from the drugs, he managed to reach up and wipe the tears from her cheek. She grabbed his hand and held it. "You took those bullets to protect me you silly wolf."

"Of course." More tears streamed down her face. "Hey, don't cry, everything's ok now." He comforted her.

"I'm sorry, I was so scared. I thought I lost you. I don't know what I would have done."

"Well I'm gonna be just fine and I'm not going anywhere, okay?" he said.

She nodded and put her head on his chest. He stroked her back with his free hand. The other one lay at his side with the IV still in his arm. "I'm so sorry Jake," she apologized.

"For what?" he asked.

"I lost it out there, I was so upset. When that hunter shot you, I thought….." She didn't want to finish the words. She didn't want to say that she had feared would die.

"Shhh, don't…." he said.

She lifted her head from his chest and he wiped hear tears again. "Tell me what happened to the hunter though. I can't remember… Ness, did you….?"

"No," she shook her head and put her hands to his face showing him that she let him go.

"There were two?" he asked. He only remembered seeing the one.

"Yes. I'm so afraid of what they might do now. I'm so sorry I've exposed us." She worried.

"No! This isn't your fault, not in any way. They probably thought I was attacking you. It wasn't anyone's fault. We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I should have sensed they were there. I was just too caught up in the game I guess," he assured her. Then Jacob had another thought. "Is Charlie here?" he asked, wondering what Charlie might know about the accident.

"He left for work. He says he's going to see if anything has been reported and he says if it has he will do his best to cover it up," Renesmee said.

"That's good. I really owe him," he said.

There was a quick moment of silence as Renesmee smiled and looked deeply into his eyes. He smiled back her. "Love you Jake," Said finally said breaking the silence.

"I love you too Ness." He reached up and touched her cheek with his warm hand.

"I never want to lose you," she said, placing her hand over his.

"You couldn't get rid of me if you wanted to," he replied.

She knew he was still a little too weak to resist him from all the drugs Carlisle had given him. She slid closer to him and caressed his warm cheeks. Then she decided she didn't want to wait any longer. She took his face in her hands and carefully leaned over to kiss him on the lips, hoping he wouldn't resist.

He didn't. He knew Edward and Bella might not approve but he decided to take the risk. Jacob longed for her kiss and her touch endlessly since her new growth. All of her past thoughts passed right though him when their lips met. She exposed every vision and cognition of affection she had for him. It was better than he had imagined.

While they were still in an embrace, Carlisle walked in. "I thought I heard your voice," he said cheerfully.

Renesmee pulled back and turned her head to face Carlisle. The blood had rushed to her cheeks making them red.

"How do you feel?" Carlisle asked Jacob.

"Better," he admitted.

"Are you in any pain?"

"No but my back is itching like crazy."

"That's a good sign. Lemme have a look at your wound," he said.

Renesmee hopped off the bed and stepped back so Carlisle could examine him.

Carlisle didn't expect Jacob to move too quickly, but it surprised him when he sat up in the bed. Jacob felt a sudden burst of energy. Renesmee's kiss put him on top of the world. He felt as though nothing could keep him down now.

When Carlisle removed the bandages he got another pleasant surprise. "Amazing," he said astonished. "You're healing very nicely. You sure make my job easy. I wish all my patients did this well."

"Thanks." Jacob responded.

"No problem," Carlisle replied with a smile.

"No really…I mean it. Thank you for saving my life. I really owe you for all you've done."

Carlisle patted Jacob's shoulder. "You're very welcome Jake," he said more seriously. "And thank you for not dying on me. You would have ruined my perfect record." He kidded.

Jacob chuckled. "My pleasure."

Just then, Bella peeked in. "Jake!" she said, excited to see him sitting up. She dashed over to his side. "Lookin' good!" she said.

"Hey Bella!" Jacob reached his hand up for a high-five and she gently tapped his palm and then gave his hand a gentle squeeze. She was happy to see him doing so well.

Edward quietly followed behind her and snuck over to his daughter to give her a hug. Jacob glanced over, wondering if he knew about the kiss as he tried desperately tried concentrating on anything but that. "Good to see you're doing well, Jake," Edward said.

Jacob felt a moment of relief, like he'd gotten away with stealing a cookie from the cookie jar until it was shattered by Edward's next comment.

"I hope you haven't forgotten our deal though. Just because you put your life on the line for Renesmee doesn't mean I'm going to allow you to break your boundaries."

"Uh dad…" Renesmee interrupted. She ran the series of events through her head so her father could see that she was the one who's been initiating the physical contact.

Edward groaned. "Ness…" He started to comment but was interrupted by more people at the door. Several smiling faces stood in the threshold waiting to enter and see Jacob.

"Hey, can you handle a few more bodies in here?" Seth asked as he pushed Billy through the door.

"Sure come on in." Jacob said, relieved.

Edward and Bella stepped to the back of the room to make room. Seth moved Billy close to his son. He reached up and embraced his hand, thankful to see him alive.

"Hey thanks for giving us all a big scare like that," Seth said smiling at him, happy to see his friend alive as well.

"Yeah I heard you cried like a big baby," Jacob grinned, teasing him. He'd seen Seth in the images Renesmee showed him when she touched him.

"Uh, well yeah, you got any idea how much it would cost me to change that sign outside the shop!" He joked, trying to play it off.

Jacob grabbed some gauze off the bed and threw it at him, "Yeah then you'd have to change it to "_One Ugly Mutt_."

They all laughed.

After several minutes of seeing Jacob's personality return back to normal, several more of Jacob's friends arrived to see him. Quil, Embry and Sam all piled in the crowded room. Renesmee stayed but Edward and Bella moved just outside the room, looking in so the others could have a turn with Jacob.

They all hugged Renesmee, unable to resist her sweet disposition. When Renesmee made physical contact with them however, they saw the entire roll of events that took place. Sam became cautiously aware that Renesmee displayed signs of aggression that had not been there before. He knew that meant they'd be watching out for her as well, to see how she develops as she matures. He was also now very concerned about the safety of the pack and how the incident posed a threat to their secrecy.

Edward listened in to every thought, being forewarned now of their position. He glanced over at his daughter as she huddled back over to Jacob's side. He struggled not to listen in to her thoughts which had drastically changed within the past few days. Edward knew it wouldn't be long before he would totally lose his little girl to Jacob. She was well on her way to becoming a woman. Something he wasn't quite ready for yet but had to accept sooner or later. Bella noticed he seemed distracted. She reached for his hand, opening her thoughts to him. "_Are you listening to anything good over there_?"

Edward smiled. "Nothing important. Everyone's just very happy to see Jacob back to normal," he spoke in a low tone.

"_Well that's important. I am too. I'm very happy for Renesmee most of all. I don't know what she would have done if…"_

"Don't even think about that. He's fine now."

"_I know, but it just makes me think about the future"._

"We can't change the inevitable Bella. This is the part of being a vampire I warned you about. Watching the ones you love…die."

She put her head to his chest and he stroked her soft brown hair softly.

"Don't spend all eternity thinking about these things. You'll just go mad. We have to embrace what we have now and enjoy it. Ness isn't a child anymore, and soon she'll be a full grown woman. Even her mind is maturing. Her thought patterns are changing," he continued.

"_You better be careful about listening in. I don't think Jacob is gonna be able to hold out much longer. He's completely in love with her, and now with all these changes, the way he looks at her..." _Bella thought.

"I know, don't remind me," Edward moaned.

Bella chuckled. "_Well you know it won't be long before they get married and …"_

Edward squeezed her hand tightly before she finished. "Yes, I know that too. That's why I wish to spend as much time with her as possible before that happens."

"_Aw, because you'll miss her when she's with Jake_?" Bella thought.

"No because as soon as they get back from the honeymoon, we're moving to Alaska." Edward said as he tapped the side of his head with his finger.

Bella had a flashback of their honeymoon and thereafter and suddenly realized why he would need to get away, far away. She burst out laughing making the whole room turn and stare at them.

Tara hoped to see Jake and Renesmee and perhaps rejoin Seth again. She peeked in the room but saw it was over crowded and decided it was still not a good time. She turned to head out, planning to go out for a run, maybe even hunt, just anything to free up some of the energy she had. As she started down the hall, she came face to face with Sue. Leah was with her now and both of them were headed to Jacob's room. Knowing it was too late to change or disappear she kept walking, hoping not to be noticed and Sue almost didn't, had Leah not spoke up.

"Hi Tara," Leah said to her walking by.

Tara balled up her fists and closed her eyes, irritated by Leah's antics.

Sue spun around. "Tara?" she said to her.

Tara turned around. Sue's eyes grew wider as she looked at her. At first she thought it was just Alice in passing since they are close in height and hair color but now she could clearly see it was not. She could tell it was Tara but she clearly spotted the difference. She looked more like one of the Cullen's now.

"You…you look very different Tara," Sue said in a suspicious tone.

"Yeah, you're looking a little pale there Tara, you ok? Leah sneered.

Tara turned to Sue being respectful. "Mrs. Clearwater. I owe you an apology," she began.

"I'll say," Leah interrupted.

Tara gave her a callous look. "If I'd be _allowed_ to finish, I'd like to explain."

Edward picked up on the conversation from the other room and he whispered a warning in Seth's ear.

Seth quickly excused himself and headed out the door into the hall where he saw the three of them together. "_Oh great!_" he thought.

He quickly ran over to intercede. "Uh mom I can explain..." he interrupted.

"Well someone better because I'm pretty confused right now. Tara was just saying she owes me an apology for something."

"Um, you were?" he said looking at Tara.

"Yes, I haven't been honest with you."

Seth interrupted again. "Uh...well mom I have some confessions myself..."

Sue stared at the two of them anxiously wondering what was going on. "What are you? You're one of them? One of the Cullens?" she asked.

Tara nodded, carefully watching her reaction.

"How did you change your appearance like that?"

"I have a gift. We all have gifts."

"A..gift?" she cocked an eyebrow.

"Sure...your son turns into a wolf...I can basically change into whatever I want to. Or I can make it so you can't even see me if I desire, sorta like a chameleon."

"So.. you're more like a shape shifter?" she hoped.

"No...I don't change physically. It's an illusion. I can manipulate your mind into seeing things."

"Then what are you _really_?"

Leah became impatient and finished the sentence. "Ugh! She's a _vampire_ mom!"

"Damn it Leah!" Seth hollered. "Could you just stop already and let us handle this?"

"Handle what? Beating-around-the-bush some more?"

"Enough! Both of you! Look, I'm not stupid. I have _eyes_." She looked at each one of them. "However, I don't think you're brother needs help with this. Let him tell me on his own please."

Leah grumbled and then shut her mouth.

"I apologize for making you believe I was something I'm not but I was afraid of how you would react if Seth brought me to your home to meet you. This is what I _really_ am."

Seth reached for her hand and entwined his fingers with hers.

Sue caught it and stared wide-eyed at them together. "You two are more than just friends?" she asked a little stunned.

Seth hesitated to answer. "Yes. We are."

"H-how much more?" She really worried now.

He stared sweating now, worried about her reaction to the next blow. "A lot...I imprinted on her," he finally admitted.

Sue's knees became wobbly and she began losing her balance.

"Mom!" He quickly grabbed her and held her up. "Oh God, please don't pass out."

"No, I-I just need to sit."

Seth helped her to a chair.

"But how…when?"

"The night she came to town, the night I first saw her."

His mother gasped. "I just don't understand. You imprinted on a ….a…."

"_Tara_ mom, her name is Tara. She's still the same girl that came to the house that you met, she just looks a little different now but it's her. Seth pointed out.

"But she's….she's…a.." She couldn't finish.

"A vampire." Tara finished for her.

Sue looked over at her. Tara stood with her hands folded behind her back as she spoke.

"I understand your concern Mrs. Clearwater. You should know, I have asked your son if it's at all possible for him to remove this imprint on me so that he could be set free from the situation. Not that I want him to mind you, because care for him deeply and want nothing more than to be with him, but not if it's at the expense of causing him any anguish or disrupting his life. I would never wish to see any harm to come to him because of me, I swear to you."

"This can't be undone," Sue said. She knew that very well. She wasn't looking anymore pleased about the situation.

"No it can't mom, and I don't want it to. I love her."

Sue felt her head spinning again. She knew there was no winning this situation. An imprint is forever. It truly is 'Until death do us part' and she knew he would never leave her now. Sue also began to realize there would be no grandchildren in her future, at least not from her son.

"It may take me a while to absorb all this," she said to Seth.

"I know. I knew it would. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I was too afraid of how you'd react and afraid of losing you."

"Losing me? Did you think I'd disown my own son?"

"No, no I don't mean that…it just that dad… he didn't react well to all this stuff, the changing…the vampires…everything. His heart couldn't take it."

Sue stood up and grabbed Seth's face in her hands looking up at him. "Your dad's death had nothing to do with you or any of this. Don't you ever blame yourself! He had an unhealthy heart, and he knew it. He joked about it all the time. It was just his time sweetie."

Seth embraced his mom. He wiped the tears from his face with one hand. She removed much of the guilt he'd been carrying for so long.

While they stood there for a few moments longer, Charlie came in after just getting off work. He came to see Jacob and give them some news.

"Everything ok?" he said as he observed the emotional moment between Sue and Seth. "Is Jacob alright?"

They all turned to face him.

"Yes he's doing great. He'd love to see you. Billy's in there with some of the boys," Sue said putting her hand on his arm.

Seth moved closer to Tara again.

"You might want to grab Carlisle, I have some news for him too," he said as they headed down the hall.

Tara immediately ran and got him.

Jacob sat up in the bed eating some pizza that Billy ordered for all of them. Billy was telling the boys some childhood stories about Jacob making them laugh. Charlie came in and greeted Jacob with a hug.

Carlisle flew to the door within seconds. He moved so quickly and quietly no one had even noticed his presence till he spoke. His voice startled them.

"Hello Charlie, I was told you had some news to share with us?"

Everyone in the room became quiet and listened. The rest of the Cullens circled around the room too to hear the news.

"Uh yeah, about that…I just wanted to let you know there was a police report filed by a couple of men who claim they were attacked in the forest by…"

Everyone stood motionless, waiting for Charlie to tell them what was reported.

"…a young girl," he finished.

They all just looked at each other and then suddenly Jacob snickered.

"A girl? That's it?" he asked.

"Well, no…that's not all they reported. They mentioned being attacked by two large wolves also."

"But we didn't attack anyone!" Seth said angrily.

Charlie held his hand up signaling to wait. "They are claiming the girl that attacked them wasn't human either, that she had super strength. Strength enough to snap a shotgun in half…."

Bella gasped. Edward remembered he had the guns in the back of the jeep still.

"They also said they saw one of the wolves change into a man right in front of them," he finished.

They all started to worry now.

"What will happen now Charlie?" Carlisle asked.

"Well…I'm supposed to file the report and start and investigation. However…I informed the men I had a long list of reports ahead of theirs and that I would be getting around to it once I located Big Foot, The Loch Ness Monster, and Frankenstein." Then his serious face turned into a grin.

Carlisle smiled too. The boys started snickering and then suddenly the mood became lighter in the room.

"Thank you Charlie. We appreciate all you've done for us." Carlisle shook his hand.

"I _do_ suggest you all stay out of the woods for a while though. Let this thing die out quietly."

"We will be sure to do that Charlie." Carlisle assured him.

Renesmee gave Charlie a hug and thanked him too. Bella smiled when she saw them together.

"Welcome kiddo," he patted her back smiling too. Then he suddenly pulled back slightly, looking at her.

"Did you get taller since the last time I saw you?" he wondered as he remembered her being much shorter on his last visit.

Renesmee giggled. "Growth spurt," she said shrugging her shoulders.

"Right. Growth spurt." Charlie chuckled.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Unexpected**

When Renesmee awoke the next morning in her own bed, she sat up quickly and wondered how she got there, knowing she'd fallen asleep in the chair in Jacob's room. She threw the covers off and jumped onto the floor.

"Ow!" Someone yelled, as she stepped on something hard on the floor below. It was Jacob. He slept on the floor next to her bed.

"Jake! What the heck are you doing in my room? Wait! What the heck am I doing up here? I thought I fell asleep in your room last night."

"You did, but I couldn't stand seeing you sleep in that chair all night so I carried you up to your bed," he said. "Man, you've really put on a few pounds you know," he added.

"You…hey wait… what?" she frowned, putting her hands on her hips when she realized what he just said.

Jacob laughed, pulling her down to the floor. "Don't worry, I don't mean that in a bad way." He grinned.

Renesmee looked him over. He was shirtless, only wearing a pair of sweat pants he'd changed into before he fell asleep. She examined his side where the wounds had been. They were completely healed.

"You're all better? Really?" she asked.

"Yup. Good as new." He held out his arms, showing off.

Renesmee threw herself at him and hugged him. Jacob wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tight, unable to resist her affection. When she pulled back, she smiled and stared into his eyes.

He looked at her differently now. It was no longer the playful affection he displayed for her before. There was clearly a strong desire behind his eyes that longed for her. As he brought his hand up to her face, he tenderly touched her cheek and leaned in to kiss her, pressing his lips to hers softly. When they parted, he pressed his forehead against hers, tenderly caressing her face.

"I've been waiting for this for so long," he confessed. He leaned back and looked at her. Her hair was still a bit messy from sleeping on it. He took his finger and brushed a long curly lock of hair from her eyes. "You are so beautiful. I don't know if you even noticed but I haven't been able to take my eyes off you since…"

She smiled. He didn't need to finish.

"It was almost impossible to be around Edward. I thought at any moment he was gonna just run over to me and rip my eyes out for looking at you. I just can't get you out of my head."

She started to blush. Jacob liked it. "But wasn't it that way before? I thought you said you were _always_ thinking about me."

"Well yeah I was, but… it was different. I mean it was impossible for to me imagine being with you like this before. I knew it would happen someday, and I've been counting the days, believe me! You just ignited a flame the first day I saw you standing in the bathroom all…..grown-up and stuff." He did a little waving of the hands, pointing out her features.

She leaned in close to him. "Jacob…?" she said, almost seductively.

"Yes?"

"Are you trying to tell me you only love me for my body?"

"What? No! That's not what I'm saying…"

She grinned devilishly and started to giggle. He laughed, then tackled her to the ground and began tickling her. She squealed with laughter. As they still squirmed around on the floor, Bella suddenly peeked in. "Good morning!" she said cheerfully.

They both looked up at her nearly breathless, in an embrace. "Uh...yeah, ok…so this is awkward," Jacob said.

As he stood he, helped Renesmee to her feet.

"I just wanted to see if you might be hungry. Esme made some food for you," she said to Jacob.

"Oh... yeah actually, I'm starving now that I think about it." Food was the last thing on his mind a moment ago. He nervously rubbed his hand behind his neck as he started to sweat. "How about you Ness? Want some eggs?"

"Sure. Let's go," she said gleefully as she kissed his cheek and then headed for the door.

As soon as Renesmee turned her back to them, Bella's face became very serious and she made a vee sign with her two fingers, first pointing at her eyes and then turned her hand and pointed one finger at Jacob, indicating she was watching him. Jacob almost laughed at the irony of it.

All of the other visitors disappeared for the night, knowing Jacob would be recovered by morning. Carlisle returned to the hospital to work an early shift.

Jacob and Renesmee followed Bella into the kitchen. Seth nearly finished eating the food Esme prepared for him too. Tara sat by his side listening as Edward told her more family stories. She curiously wanted to hear the about the vampire army that came to Forks to hunt Bella. It was a story she hadn't heard yet. He began the story with the account of James and how he tricked Bella and nearly killed her. Tara originally thought James turned her but Edward explained how he saved her by drawing the venom out of her blood before the process was complete, saving her life.

As everything started to comfortably fall into place, all of their troublesome burdens seemed almost trivial now. But when Bella spotted that familiar expression on Edward's face, she knew something wasn't right.

Suddenly, Alice's scream echoed through the house, confirming her suspicions. Everyone dropped what they were doing and ran to her. "They're coming!" she said frantically.

"Who's coming Alice?" Seth asked.

"The Volturi! They know something, I don't know how or what exactly but they're on their way here."

Edward turned to Seth and Jacob. "Take the girls to the Reservation. They'll be protected there. We'll handle the Volturi and get rid of them as quickly as possible." They both nodded.

The girls knew the Volturi couldn't see either of them as long as they were with the wolves and would be safe for the time being.

"What do you suppose they want?" Esme asked.

I don't know, maybe they've just decided to check on Renesmee. It could be nothing. We'll just be polite and respectful and try not to give anything away. We'll have to make sure not to make any physical contact with Aro. If we do, he'll know everything immediately." Edward said.

She nodded and they all acknowledged his warning.

Edward knew the Volturi could travel fast so they wasted no time in getting the girls out of there. Jacob took Renesmee to Billy's house then contacted Sam's pack to have them patrolling the area to keep guard.

Seth took Tara to his house. As he'd hoped, he found a note from Sue on the kitchen table."_Going out with Charlie tonight after work for dinner and a movie. Won't be home. Left you dinner in the fridge. Love you, Mom."_The news relieved Seth since he wouldn't have to explain to his mother why Tara would be staying there for a while.

They waited several hours. Nightfall came and there was still no news yet from Edward. To kill some time, Seth suggested they watch some movies he borrowed from the Cullens. Tara hoped it would be a good distraction however, it wasn't being very affective. As she and Seth sat on the couch, she barely paid attention to the plot, staring blankly at the screen.

He put his arm around her, caressing her shoulders and glancing at her frequently. "You're very quiet tonight," he'd noticed.

His voice broke her trance. "I'm sorry. My mind is elsewhere."

"Where's that?"

Tara sighed. "In the wrong place." She gazed at his face.

He kissed her head. "You're just worried. It's understandable."

"Worry is a wasted emotion. It solves nothing. There are so many other emotions I'd rather be indulging in when I'm with you, so… I'll stop." She shrugged it off, changing her mood instantly.

Seth was taken aback. "Wow. You're so much less complicated than other girls I know."

"Less complicated? You're joking right?" She gave him a crooked smile.

"Uh, no."

She just shook her head.

"What?" he asked.

"I just can't believe you don't think I've complicated your life," she replied.

"Well I don't. Human girls are full of complications. I mean for one, they can't just turn off their emotions or change them the way you do. And when you see a problem, you fix it. You don't just dwell over it forever. I really like that you prefer to focus on us and set aside everything else going on. Even I have a hard time doing that sometimes but you seem to be a natural."

"I'm sorry. It just makes sense to me. I didn't know there was another way," she shrugged.

"Don't apologize for the way you are. It's part of what I love about you."

"Okay then, I'm not sorry… oh, and I also like hearing all the reasons why you love me," she smiled.

Seth turned his body, facing hers. He propped his head up one hand, staring at her while caressing her arm with the other. "I didn't really like this movie so much any. It's too predictable. I already figured out who the killer is," he said.

She grinned. "I always figure that out right away. I can spot a killer easily, unless they are just horrible actors…like this guy." She pointed to the man on screen who was about to strangle his victim.

"Huh, okay …I guessed wrong," Seth admitted as he realized he'd picked out the wrong guy in the movie. They sat quietly for a while, staring at each other until Seth's minded drifted. "How long do you think it will take them to get here?" he wondered.

She knew he referred to the Volturi. "Depends how they choose to travel, but either way they are quick."

"How many ways are there for a vampire to travel?" he asked.

"Well if they choose to fly they'd have to conceal themselves and travel at night. They also have to hide their eyes. They find this very inconvenient so most often they will travel by foot."

"By foot? But..aren't they coming from Italy?"

"Yes, we're good swimmers...remember?" she reminded him.

"Oh, right." His mind began to wander as he stared off in another direction.

She reached up and touched his chin turning his face back in her direction. "Thought we weren't going to worry tonight?" she reminded him.

"Mmm, you caught me. Sorry about that." The corners of his mouth turned up and then she grinned back at him.

"Are you getting tired at all? Do you need to rest?" She realized how late it was and knew it would be time for him to sleep soon.

"Not tired at all. Actually... I'm a little wound up," he admitted.

She sighed. "Hmm, wanna go for a quick run? I bet I can beat you this time," she said, trying to think of ways to make him feel better. Running and hunting always relieved tension or anxiousness for her.

Seth had something else on his mind however. "No, I don't feel like running," he said. He slid closer to her and began to stroke her arm. Then his hand trailed up to her shoulder and then her neck, gently caressing her skin with his fingertips. His fingers brushed her soft, cool lips. She closed her eyes enjoying every second his skin contacted hers. When he could no longer hold back, he slowly leaned over and pressed his lips to hers, tasting the chill in her breath. She didn't resist. He ran his fingers through her hair as he kissed her more passionately, then slid his hand past the small of her back to her leg and gripped her thigh.

Tara moved slowly and cautiously. She leisurely eased her way into his lap with her legs on either side of him so she faced him. She leaned into him, reaching her arms over his shoulders and placing her hands on the back of the couch. As she pressed her body against his, absorbing his body heat, she closed her eyes and softly touched her lips to his.

He slid his hands from her hips to her back, running one up the back of her neck, knotting his fingers in her hair. The stinging heat from his palms electrified her. Her hands gripped the back of the couch digging her nails into the cushions.

His kiss became more penetrating as he parted his lips and kissed her even more deeply than he had before. She felt his heart rate speed up and he breathed even heavier now as things became more intense. As his lips trailed down her neck she found herself desiring him more. She suddenly sucked in a breath and leaped away from him quickly. "What happened? Did I do something wrong?" he huffed out of breath.

"Ah no, no you did everything _right_ actually," she confessed.

"Then why did you jump off of me?"

"Sorry, I just needed to stop for a second. I have to be careful. If we keep that up, I'll take you whether you want me to or not," she winked.

"Well, who says I don't want you to?" he grinned.

She chuckled, letting out deep breath. "Umm, wouldn't you like to give it a little thought first?"

"I have thought about it…_frequently_," he admitted.

"Yes, but are you sure it's what you want, right _now_? Shouldn't you wait or something? I mean you've already waited this long….."

"What's left to wait for? You're the only one I'll ever want and right now, I _really, really_ want you. But, only if you're okay with it. I want you to want this too. It's not just about me."

She paused for a moment and then with a sudden motion, she was in his lap again. She looked very serious but her eyes were soft and loving and yet still very radiantly golden. "You're sure about this?" she asked. He nodded staring in her eyes. She leaned in and whispered in his ear. "You're making this too easy for me you know."

"Good," he whispered, his mouth nearly on hers again.

"I want you too." she said, then brushed her cool lips to his quickly. "But I don't wanna break anything on you."

Seth chuckled, leaning back to look at her. "Well, in that case we'll just keep your hands above the waist and below the neck, for the time being." He winked, placing both her hands on his chest and holding them there with his.

Tara giggled shaking her head. "Oh I see. I only get access to all your _major_ organs. Those are expendable, eh?"

"Well..not _all_ my major organs," Seth teased.

Tara gasped with embarrassment and poked him in the stomach. He jumped slightly, and laughed at her. As she started to laugh with him, they both became aroused from the movement between their bodies.

Seth eagerly kissed her again but this time with more force behind it as he held her tight. Before long, his blood boiled under his skin. He broke away only for a moment as he crossed his arms, grabbing the bottom of his shirt and pulling it over his head.

Tara touched her hand to his soft, bronze skin, placing it over his heart and feeling it pound against her palm. Then she leaned in and pressed her lips to his chest, kissing a trail up to his neck. Her lips burned against his skin. The fiery heat from his body electrified her and she longed to feel his bare skin against hers. She paused to remove her shirt and then embraced him, burying her face in his neck. She liked the way his body felt against hers and she began to kiss his neck and shoulders until she reached his mouth again.

He scooped her up and brought her into his bedroom, setting her gently on his bed. He slid next to her and pulled her close, pressing his bare skin against hers. As things intensified, Seth's body started to tremble. Tara stopped and placed her hands on his chest, feeling the vibration. "You're shaking. Am I making you cold?" she worried.

Seth shook his head. He was starting to look a little less confident. She cocked her head to the side and touched his chin with her finger, turning his face so his eyes would meet hers. "Are you scared?"

He shook his head again and his eyes looked away embarrassed. "No, not scared really…just... nervous." Then his eyes panned up to see her reaction.

"Oh." She understood and smiled. "It's okay," she said, caressing his cheek, "We can stop if you want."

"No. I don't wanna stop. I don't think I could even let go of you right now if I tried." His fingers gripped her tightly.

She smiled putting her head to his. "Then don't," she whispered.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you too."

Seth brushed her hair back from her face and kissed her temple, then her cheek and then he slowly moved his lips to her neck. He kissed a trail down her body till he reached her navel and gently pulled off the remainder of her clothing. His hands trembled as he slid them over her smooth, cool skin all the way up the front of her body. He kissed her again on the lips and slid his hand around to her lower back, gripping her tightly as he pulled her in close.

Tara could feel that Seth was ready for her. Her hands drifted down to his jeans and she gripped the fabric, tearing it from his body. The shreds fell to the floor. He rolled to the side a little stunned. "Umm, you're going to owe me a lot of clothing," he said to her slightly out of breath.

"Mm-hmm." Was all she mumbled as she pulled his body back to hers and wrapped one leg around his waist drawing in the heat from his blazing hot skin. He pressed his cheek to hers and ran his fingers through her hair.

"Tell me if I do anything wrong. Okay?" he whispered nervously in her ear. His breath was warmed her skin as he spoke.

She leaned back and smiled touching his face with her fingertips. "Don't worry about that, it's not as though you can hurt me. Do what your body tells you to do. Do what feels good to you. You'll know," she said completely unyielding to him as she softly stroked his back. "I'm all yours tonight." She helped him position himself and the moment he felt he was inside her, he thrust his body against hers. She gasped as she felt the heat from his skin penetrate her body. His heart beat faster as the blood pumped through his veins.

Her body delighted in the new sensation she experienced. It was unlike anything she'd know before. It was different, not like the cold, heartless ravaging she experienced with Derek. Seth was warm and loving. He embraced her with passion and love. Even his inexperience was a delight for her as she felt him taking pleasure in learning and giving in to his desires. He was very gentle with her, always asking if his touch was pleasing to her as he explored new grounds. As his motion rocked her, she felt a surge of energy flow through every nerve ending in her body. In her moment of ecstasy she sunk her nails into the bed, gripping it tightly in her fists. She put her hand to her mouth to stifle a squeal as Seth drove his body into hers when he climaxed. In a completely habitual manner, Tara bit down clenching her teeth hard.

**A few hours passed.**

Seth opened his eyes, seeing Tara lying next to him. She traced the outline of his arm with her fingers. "Hey," he spoke softly, smiling. "I'm sorry, did I fall asleep?"

"Yes, I think I wore you out a little," she grinned proudly.

Seth chuckled. He looked down at his body. "So are all my major organs still intact?" he said jokingly.

"Mmm, last I checked they were all there." Her fingers drifted over his shoulders and down his chest. "Most of the bruises have gone away too," She added.

"Bruises?" His eye brows rose as he examined his body.

"Umm...just a few. I really tried being gentle."

He smiled "Well I can't say I recall anything ever hurting. Everything felt pretty amazing to me." He touched her face, caressing it softly. Then he noticed she wore the t-shirt he took off. "Hey, is that my shirt you have on?"

"Mm-hmm. It's comfy and it covers me up all the way," she said as she showed him how long it hung down her body. "Plus, I like the way it smells. It has your scent."

"But I thought you don't like the way we smell."

"Well, your scent has kinda grown on me."

"Mmm, I know what you mean," he said, leaning in to smell her hair. When she lifted her arm to touch him, he spotted two fresh scars. "Hey, what happened to your arm?" he asked, grabbing her hand.

She pulled her hand back quickly. "It's nothing."

"When did you get these? I don't remember you having bite marks on your arms."

"Umm...well, you sorta bit a few times last night,"

His eyes widened. "I _bit_ you?" he gasped with surprise.

"Quite a lot." she nodded.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize…."

She stroked his hand. "Don't be sorry, I liked it."

"Was there… anything else?" he worried.

"Um…you kinda growled a lot too."

"I…oh no, please tell me you are just teasing me now!" Seth wondered if maybe he'd been so caught up in the moment he didn't realize what kind of noises he made.

She bit her lip and shook her head.

Seth threw himself back on the bed and put his hand over his face embarrassed.

She laughed, crawling on top of him and lifted his hand. "I just love it when I make you blush."

He opened his eyes to look at her. "Were you teasing?"

She grinned. "Okay maybe just a little," she chuckled. "Gotcha."

He laughed. "I guess I sort of earned that. You really had me fooled but…" He reached for her arm looking at the scars, still there. "This isn't an illusion?"

"No," she admitted.

"Then…?" Seth looked at her confused again.

"Well, things got pretty intense and actually I _was _afraid I'd bite you, so I had to stop myself. It was all I could think of at the time," she confessed.

He looked at the marks on her arm, realizing they were hers. "So you bit your own _hand_?" He examined the scar rubbing his fingers over it.

"Don't worry about it. Better mine than yours," she pointed out. "Oh and um…I'm sorry about the holes in your mattress."

"Holes?" his eyebrows rose with curiosity. She pointed where she'd dug her nails into the mattress. "Wow, you clawed up the bed… was it that good?" he chuckled with little concern for the damage to his bed.

She leaned in close. "You have no idea," she whispered, and then gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "What about you though, was it worth waiting for?" she wondered.

He touched her face. "Yes, better than I imagined. It feels perfect with you - like you were made for me."

She smiled. Then he lay back in the bed, pulling her onto him so her head rested on his chest. He ran his fingers through her hair.

She knew he was asleep, once his hand fell limp.

**The Volturi**

Five of them came - Aro, accompanied by his body guard Renata. Demitri, Jane and Alec shadowed them. Carlisle graciously greeted them when they arrived, inviting them in his home.

"Good to see you again old friend. How are you?" Aro asked him. He folded his hands in front of him being inquisitive.

"We're all very well Aro, thank you… but forgive me for skipping over the small talk. Needless to say we are all a bit anxious that you've dropped in at our doorstep for no apparent reason. May I ask what is it that brings you all the way to Forks?"

"Of course." His smile faded. "We have a bit of a problem you see." Aro held out a news paper so everyone could read the headlines.

**Local Men Attacked by Mysterious creatures in Olympic Forest,** it stated. Then it went on to mention details of the events that took place giving descriptions of the creatures they saw.

"I really don't like finding out this sort of thing this way and Demitri here seems to have difficulty seeing things very clearly when it comes to your family. I wonder why that is?"

"I'm sorry Aro, I'm afraid I can't explain that one," Carlisle lied knowing the wolves protected them.

"Yes…well regardless, you know our rules, the humans cannot know of our existence and obviously someone here has made us known to them. I was hoping you could clear this matter up for me my old friend. Tell me…are the wolves giving you grief?" Aro speculated.

"No, Aro, the wolves have not been a problem at all. As you can see from the article there was an unfortunate hunting accident that involved one of the wolves. He was shot and we came to his aid." Carlisle explained.

"I see… and the humans involved in this are the ones responsible for this?" he pointed at the paper.

"That is correct." Carlisle answered.

"So you left them alive, even though they knew of your existence?" Aro frowned.

"Aro, we cannot kill humans, not only is it morally wrong but it would break our truce with the wolves. We had to let them go. This was unexpected, however I don't think it's any reason for you to come all this way. We are all laying low and I'm sure this will pass in a matter of days. People will just call it a hoax and move on. There is no need for you to be so concerned. I'm very sorry for the inconvenience."

"Mmm, well I like to be sure of these things. Which one of you witnessed the event?" Aro asked.

"I did." Edward spoke up quickly, taking the heat. "I carried the body back here so he could be treated by Carlisle. We wanted to avoid taking him to the hospital and making this any more public than it already was."

"Ah, very good. Well, I would like to see this for myself if you please." Aro held out his hand. "Just to be quite sure no details were left out.

Edward hesitated. He read Aro's mind who was unconvinced that there was really nothing more to it.

"Is there something wrong?" Aro asked suspiciously.

"No, nothing's wrong, I just don't like being accused of lying," Edward hissed.

Carlisle stepped in. "We've told you everything Aro. We just wish to forget this event and move on. I'm sorry you came all this way, but it was truly unnecessary."

Aro paused thinking for a moment then he paced across the room. His bodyguard Renata shadowed him. "All right Carlisle, I will give you the benefit of the doubt."

Edward still listened to his thoughts. "You realize that it could cause more problems for us if those hunters disappear right now," he said as he picked up on Aro's plans to make a meal of the hunters.

Aro let out a devilish snicker. "Ah, such an amazing talent you possess Edward. It's such a pity you refused to join us. We truly would love to have you with us," he chimed. Then he stepped closer to Bella. "And Bella my dear…." he said in a sly voice. "How have you been? You look _wonderful._ I see you are maintaining the Cullen diet still," he said looking into her eyes.

"Yes," she said plainly. She didn't like Aro, nor did she wish to entertain him. Bella took Edward's hand, squeezing it tightly. "_Keep him away from me_," she thought. He made her skin crawl.

Aro continued speaking to her. "And how is your daughter…Renesmee?" he asked, looking around the room for her noticing she was not present.

"I'm sorry, she's not here at the moment," Edward told him.

"Oh, I see. Hunting?" he pried.

"No, she's actually spending time with some friends. She won't be back any time soon. I'm very sorry you'll miss her." He tried to sound sincere.

"Demitri? Aro said as he turned to him. His guard tried to find the girl but was unsuccessful.

"Nothing Aro," he replied.

"Hmm, how odd. We've had trouble keeping an eye on her. She seems to be in and out of Demetri's view. Aro paced across the room. He went over to some pictures that were on a table. There was a picture of Edward and Bella with Renesmee when she looked about the age of ten. Aro picked it up and stared at it. "Her friends you speak of….are they by chance... the _wolves_?"

Edward glanced at Carlisle. "Yes that is correct." Carlisle answered.

"And you feel it's safe for her to mingle with them, especially after your recent misfortune?"

"They are very protective of her, they wouldn't let anything happen. We trust them," he assured Aro.

"Is that so?" The corners of Aro's mouth turned down. "And you trust those killers with your daughter Edward?"

"Yes, I do. They would never harm her. We have a truce with them and we like to keep it that way."

Aro let out a deep sigh. "I find your relationship with these animals is disturbing Carlisle. I'm starting to wonder if this bizarre diet you've chosen is affecting your judgment."

"No, not in any way I assure you Aro," he replied.

"Well, these creatures have already caused some trouble for us," he said holding up the newspaper, "Perhaps you should consider detaching from them and keep your distance. I don't wish to see this kind of thing again in the future, nor do I like having to find out about it through the media. It's so _archaic_. If the wolves wish to expose themselves to the humans, then that is their business however we need not be involved and risk uncovering ours. Do I make myself clear on this matter?" he ordered.

Jane silently glared with her crimson red eyes as she stood motionless, watching all of them very carefully.

"Aro, I will personally make sure this event does not repeat itself. Again, I assure you we are taking precautions to ensure we keep our identity concealed. We are very happy here in Forks and we do not wish to jeopardize our stay," Carlisle said.

Aro continued to pace across the room looking about. He walked over to the large bay window and stared out it for a moment without saying a word. He looked for the wolves, staring deep into the forest as his eyes would allow, trying to see if they were guarding the house. He saw no sign of them.

Edward read his every thought carefully scanning to see what he was planning. You could feel the tension in the room as the Cullens waited anxiously hoping Aro would accept Carlisle's story and leave quickly.

Aro glided across the floor back over to Carlisle standing directly in front of him. "Very well my friends, I feel we have concluded this visit." He raised a hand and snapped his fingers. His companions drifted over to him and stood just inches next to him at his side. "Till next time." Aro held out his hand to Carlisle to bid him farewell.

Carlisle stared down at it, afraid to touch his skin for he knew it would instantly reveal everything to Aro.

Aro frowned again. "You're being rude Carlisle. Or... is it that you have something to hide as well?" He looked him square in the eyes and Carlisle glared back.

Tension grew even higher. Bella readied herself.

Suddenly Aro reached out and grabbed Carlisle's arm. Edward and Emmett got ready to spring into action. Carlisle quickly told them to back down, concerned for their safety. They both just growled. Aro pushed up Carlisle's sleeve and touched his skin.

Nothing.

Aro smiled a crooked smile. "_Bella_," he said slyly as his eyes diverted in her direction, knowing she was applying her gifts. "What are you _protecting_?" he hissed.

Edward tried to stop Jane before she leaped at Bella knocking her to the floor. He grabbed the tiny girl, lifting her off his wife and threw her across the room. The rest of the Volturi and the Cullens began to lunge at one another until it became a big snarling mess of arms and legs swinging in all directions.

"STOP!" Carlisle ordered. Aro's still grasped his arm tightly as he stood there. The distraction worked however. Bella lost her concentration when Jane hit her.

Aro broke through and saw everything through Carlisle's mind. He let go of Carlisle and barred his teeth at them. The visions angered him. "You lied! I knew you were hiding something but I had no idea it was anything this unfathomable!"

"We've done nothing wrong Aro, we just wish to be left alone, in peace."

"On the contrary, you're harboring a fugitive here and you're allowing your vampires to engage in intimate relationships with the wolves. This is _detestable_!"

"She's not a fugitive, she's free to do as she pleases and she wishes to stay with us. As far as the relationships, there are no rules against it and it does not violate any other codes. The wolves keep our secrets as we protect theirs." Edward tried to reason with him.

"Tara belongs to _my_ coven, where she was created."

"You're not her maker though. You have no power over her." Carlisle said.

"Her maker is dead. She killed him just before she left. He was one of our own. I demand she be returned to me!"

Carlisle looked at Edward. He wondered if Edward knew if this was true or not. Edward nodded. "I was unaware of this information," Carlisle said.

"Yes, her crime is punishable by death. I _will_ however, spare her if she returns peacefully. Her talents are very valuable to me."

"Tara is happy here, she's been away from your coven for decades. I beg you Aro, leave her be. If there is anything I can do, that would amend for her crimes…"

Aro grinned devilishly. "How _noble _of you Carlisle. You've truly become quite the family man haven't you? Well, as much as I wish to have Tara back with us, I actually _would _be willing to make a fair exchange for another. As I have seen through your mind, she has progressed into quite an extraordinary being." Aro was thinking how he'd love to have Renesmee in his Coven.

"NO!" Edward growled. "Over my dead body!"

Aro continued, ignoring Edward's outburst. "…And I also see that she provoked the hunters as well. Interesting. She _does _have a savage side to her doesn't she? Something I admire, however we can't have her causing trouble in the future."

Carlisle put his hand on Edward who was about to become unglued. He motioned for Edward to step back. "There will be no trouble Aro. She's just going through some changes right now. We are keeping an eye on things I assure you."

"Very well then…and Tara…she is with her …_wolf _I presume?" he assumed.

"Yes," Carlisle replied.

"And to think, I almost gave up looking for her but she was right here with you safe and sound." He said smugly. "Well I suppose I can just go and retrieve her myself." He gestured.

"You can't step foot on Quileute land. They won't allow it," Edward warned.

"And neither will I," Bella said. She would protect her daughter, her friends and her future son-in-law from harm if they were to try.

Aro sighed. "This is so unnecessary, Carlisle, you don't need to get involved with this. Your friends don't need to be involved either, I just wish to see her and speak to her. Bring her here alone, so we may negotiate peacefully. You don't wish any harm to come to your friends or your family, do you?"

"No of course not."

"Let it be done then. I will wait." Aro found a very posh antique chair to sit in. His guards followed him to it and stood at his side.

Tara's phone rang in the pocket of her pants. It was Carlisle. He called to inform her of the events that took place and the threats Aro made if she didn't comply. He painfully apologized for having to bear such awful news to her and told her they would do anything to protect her no matter what decision she made.

She didn't want to involve Seth or put him in danger however. Wanting to protect him, she decided to meet with Aro, alone as he requested.

Tara knelt next to the bed looking at Seth. With one finger, she carefully brushed the strands of hair that touched his forehead, trying not to wake him. She longed to kiss him but knew it would only disturb his rest. She searched the house for some paper and then wrote him a note apologizing for doing what she was about to do and asked him to forgive her. She hoped he would understand that she wanted to protect him and that no matter what happens, she will always love him.

Tara had no idea if she would be able to return. She feared Aro would kill her on the spot once he saw her and she knew if Seth came with her, he would also be killed trying to save her. She couldn't allow that to happen. Once dressed, she placed the note on the bed next to him. She picked up Seth's shirt and lifted it to her nose, inhaling the scent, branding it into her memory before leaving him, forever.

When she entered the Cullen home, Aro stood up and walked towards her, greeting her with an enormous smile. His tone was unsettling however. "Tara my dear, it's been too long," he chimed. He held out his hand to her.

She gave him a bitter look. "Don't touch me!"

Aro sighed. "Hmmm, I see where you get your manners from," he said coldly, eyeing the others.

"Get on with it Aro. What do you want?" she demanded

"I've come to peacefully invite you to return home. We've missed you." He folded his hands together smiling. Tara didn't fall for his phony kindness.

"_This_ is my home," she replied.

Aro's face turned sour. "You're part of _my _coven, you belong with us. I am offering you your life back my dear and you stand here and insult me?"

"That's not a life I chose. I don't want it!" she spat.

"You would rather be destroyed then?" he lifted a finger.

"Tara, no!" Edward said as he listened to her thoughts. She was willing to give her life to protect Seth and them.

Aro seemed to understand. He had no interest in destroying her though. She was a great asset to him and a fascination of his since she joined them. He wanted to posses her again more than anything. "Such a pity. You Cullen's are so unusual and rare, giving your lives up for the love of human. Such a _waste_ of talent."

"Get on with it then Aro, stop monologing and just get it over with." Tara's tone was acidic and impatient. She worried Seth may wake up and coming looking for her soon.

Aro, grumbled. "I simply don't wish to end it this way Tara, I had sincerely hoped you see things my way," he frowned.

"Well I don't!" she hissed

"Hmm yes, well you should reconsider again. I don't think you'd want to put your friends in danger would you...or their families?" Did you leave you're _wolf friend_ alone to come here?"

Tara wondered why he'd asked that. She was told to come alone as he requested.

Edward growled. "There are more of them. They've surrounded Charlie's house. Aro has ordered his guards to attack if he doesn't return for them."

"No!" Bella shouted.

"That's not a negotiation Aro, that's a deliberate threat!" Edward angrily pointed out.

"No threats, just concerns. I mean after all, things happen, accidents...people disappear."

Tara's eyes turned black. She thought about ripping Aro's head off right then and there. His guards stood tightly against him, protecting him. "Damn you Aro! Just take my life and leave the others out of it. They've done nothing to you!"

Carlisle wasn't about to let Tara give her life up knowing the devastation it would cause. Edward heard his thoughts and stood by him in his decision. "No, we won't allow you to take this girl's life either. She's part of our family now," he said.

Aro wasn't interested in getting into a battle but he was unyielding when it came to the law and he didn't like it when he didn't get his way. "Carlisle, there's no need for you to be involved in this. I don't wish to bring any harm to you or your family my old friend, but… I have made up my mind." Aro made sure Edward _knew_ that he would not back down.

Tara feared that the Cullens would start a fight with them. She wasn't about to endanger their lives and she knew they'd fight for hers. "No, Carlisle, I won't let you risk your family like that, not for me."

"But Tara…" Esme spoke. She didn't want to lose Tara and the thought of it broke her heart.

Tara hardened her heart and mind. She detached her emotions so she would not be persuaded to stay. She back away from the family shaking her head. Her eyes were black and cold and expressionless. This was her only hope of protecting them. "Aro, please give me a moment with them alone," she requested.

Aro smiled feeling victorious. "Of course, we'll be waiting outside." He snapped his fingers and they turned and disappeared.

Once they stepped out, Carlisle spoke. "Don't Tara, we'll find a way to get out of this."

"No, Aro won't back down from this and I don't want to be responsible for the deaths of anyone. You don't have to protect me. Just protect your family."

"But you _are _family," Esme pleaded.

"I'm sorry, there's no other way. This is what I choose," she said somberly.

"You can't do this to Seth!" Bella shouted. "You don't know what that will do to him!"

"Yes I do, it will save his life and the life of his family. I don't want them to die because of me. I brought this on myself and as I have said before, I will do what it takes to make it right." She turned to Carlisle. "I don't want your family to go to war over me. Please just understand my decision to leave."

Bella became angry and stormed out. Tara didn't understand why she was so upset. Edward tried to explain it to her. "She's upset because I left her once, thinking I could protect her that way. It devastated her. It's a pain that she remembers well and would never wish on anyone. She knows what this will do to Seth if you leave. She loves him and doesn't want to see him go through that."

"Well I can't live with myself if he gets killed because of me Edward...or his mom or Charlie. I don't think she will be so forgiving then. Please Edward…. don't make this harder for me than it already is." Tara unclasped the chain around her neck. Her voice trembled when she spoke. "Give this to Seth," she said with a hardened expression as she handed him the charm. _ Tell him I love him Edward… and I will never forget," _she thought_._

Edward cupped her hand between his and squeezed. With a pained look on his face, he quietly took the locket and stepped away.

Esme ran up and hugged Tara. She held back a sob and pushed her off gently so she could leave.

Though there were no tears on any of their faces, they all looked as though they were crying.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Broken Hearts**

Seth woke in his bed alone, rubbing his eyes as he sat up. "Tara?" There was no answer however.

He waited patiently, worrying that she left to hunt. Then he spotted the note and opened the folded paper. His heart pounded as he read it. The note fell to the floor as he leaped up. He nearly lost his balance as he dressed quickly, shoving his legs in the pant holes. When he slipped his shirt over his head he smelled her scent that lingered on it still. Then he dashed to his bike and headed to the Cullen's house.

Seth drove recklessly fast, running two stop signs and breaking all the speed limits. About three quarters of the way there, Charlie's cruiser pulled out onto the road. The lights came on as it followed him. Seth ignored him, giving his bike as much gas as he could. When he pulled into the Cullen's driveway, he parked his bike and ran for the house yanking his helmet off. "Tara!" he shouted as ran inside, heading for the stairs.

"She's gone," Edward said from behind. Seth turned around and saw Edward and Carlisle's somber faces staring at him. Edward heard every painful thought in Seth's mind. Without a word, Seth darted for the exit while thinking about driving to the airport. "You won't find her there, they traveled on foot. They're gone, probably half way there by now," Edward explained.

Charlie suddenly came through the door after him."What the hell are you _doing _boy?" he yelled. "Do you have any idea how fast you were going and how many laws you broke out there?"

"Not _now_." Seth looked at him angrily, trying to get out the door.

"Yes _now_ damn it! You're not going anywhere." He blocked the door preventing Seth from leaving.

"Dad, wait…I need to talk to you," Bella interrupted. Charlie turned his attention to Bella as she pushed him out the door, unable to break free from her grip.

"I'm so sorry Seth. I truly know how you feel," Edward empathized.

He turned towards Edward, hurt and angered. "_How_ could you let her go then?"

"She felt it was the only way. She didn't want to risk anyone's life for her own sake."

"I would have protected her with _my_ life, because it's _nothing_ without her in it," his voice cracked.

"That's why she left without you knowing. She didn't want to risk your life. Aro will stop at nothing to get what he wants. He had several guards posted at Charlie's last night. He threatened to kill him and your mother if she didn't comply. She couldn't let herself be responsible if any harm came to them. She loves you too much. She also asked me to give this to you."

Edward held out the locket Tara gave him. Seth's eyes welled up with tears and one rolled down his cheek. He slowly grabbed the locket and wiped the tear off with his arm.

"Seth," Carlisle spoke. "She begged me to let her go without a fight. I promised her I wouldn't force her to stay here if she didn't want to. There was nothing I could do."

Seth fought the urge to fall apart completely. "Then you have to help me. Help me go to Italy to bring her back."

"I can't do that. I promised I wouldn't. She doesn't want any harm to come to you. She loves you too much. It would be suicide for you to go there. There would be no fight Seth, they would just have you killed."

"I don't care, I have to try. I can't just sit here and do nothing. I'll die inside anyway, so what's the difference?"

Carlisle saw the desperation in his face. "I know how you feel, but there is nothing you can do. None of us want this for her either but she wouldn't have it any other way. She refused to put anyone at risk," he said.

"I can't accept that. If you won't help, I'll just find her myself." Seth turned his back to him and reached for the doorknob to leave. Edward listened to his plan to use his savings to buy an airline ticket and pass port.

"Seth, consider the family, your mother. Consider them and what will happen when you are killed." Edward made no mistake pointing out that he would not being making a return trip if he goes.

Seth turned his head. He stared at Edward coldly. "You seem to forget who I am. I was built to destroy your kind. That's my purpose in life. I intend to use it and I intend to kill Aro for what he's done." Seth looked different than they'd ever seen him - driven completely by anger. He opened the door and stood half way out and paused, then turned and looked back at Edward.

"My family will understand. They know what it means to risk everything for someone you love, even your life. Consider this Edward….what if it was your Bella…. or Ness. What would you do had Aro tried to steal them from you and threatened to kill your family if you tried to stop him? Oh wait, he did! I remember, because I was there!" Edward just frowned. The guilt poured over him as he stood there in silence. "I love Tara more than anything and I'll do whatever I have to in order to get her back if that's possible...even if I die trying!" Seth walked out slamming the door.

Charlie stood outside with Bella waiting as Seth headed for his bike, not even looking at them. He grabbed Seth's arm and stopped him. "Now you just _wait _one minute! I know you've got a lot going on right now but I better not ever catch you pulling that crap on the road again or I'll haul your butt off to the station, do you understand?" he said in a sharp tone.

Seth's disposition was breaking. He turned to face Charlie and his face displayed pure anguish. "Yes sir," he spoke in a low angry voice and then walked to his bike and stood in front of it. Images of Tara ran though his head while he looked at the locket in his hand. He closed his fingers over it and squeezed it tightly. Tears welled up in his eyes and began to stream down his face. He started to wipe them and then rubbed his forehead that was throbbing. Then he snapped, kicking his bike over with so much force it slid out to the road. Seth cursed and screamed as he slammed his helmet into the ground with so much force it cracked.

"Hey now!" Charlie yelled. Bella grabbed her father not allowing him to get close. She suspected what he was about to do soon and didn't want him to be in the way.

Seth's body vibrated violently. Suddenly he ran for the forest and leaped in the air. His clothes fell to shreds as he transformed in mid-air. He ran as fast as he could back to the reservation.

Edward and Carlisle came out just in time to witness his outburst just as the stepped off the porch. Bella had never seen Seth in such a state as this. She always knew Seth to have the most cheerful temperament of any human she'd ever known, even during the most trying times. It disturbed her to see him this way. She leaned down picking up the locket that had fallen to the ground as he dropped it.

"So all this because his girlfriend broke up with him?" Charlie asked, trying to put the pieces together.

"Yes, Tara left him," she answered.

"Well where is she? I thought she lived here with you," he questioned Carlisle.

"She went to Italy," Carlisle answered.

"Italy? What is it with _Italy_?" Charlie remembered how Bella left to go after Edward. He'd found out much later where she had actually gone to.

"Nothing you need to know dad," Bella replied.

"Sheesh! What is it with you Cullens?" Always leaving the ones you love behind?" Charlie shook his head. "No wonder that poor kid is a mess."

"Dad!" Bella blurted out.

"No Bella! I went through three months of hell with you when Edward left you and now poor Sue is gonna have to deal with the same thing? Did he imprint on her?"

"You know about that?" Bella asked surprised.

"I know a lot more than you think. I can keep secrets too ya know," he replied.

"Yes he imprinted on her," Edward answered his question.

"So I guess it's just _his_ problem now huh? She's done with him and she can just run off and change her life like that? Do you guys ever consider that humans have strong feelings and emotions? You can't just toss people aside when you're done with them. If you're gonna at least try to co-exist with us you can't be so cold and heartless!"

Edward came to the realization that Charlie knew more than he led on about why he left Bella, even though he tried to keep it from him. Charlie's words cut through him like a knife. Carlisle grabbed him before he could act rashly. "It's not _like_ that. It's complicated!" Edward said heatedly.

"Right." Charlie huffed. He didn't want to hear any more excuses from Edward. "I'm going back to work now," Charlie said before he kissed Bella on the forehead and then got in his car and drove off.

The Cullen's stood in silence and sadness as they watched Charlie leave. "I'm going with Seth," Bella said, looking at Edward.

He didn't have to read her mind to know what she was thinking. It was the same thoughts from everyone else's head. They were going to Italy.

Edward called Jacob, explaining the situation to him. When he agreed to the plan he called Sue's house and spoke with Leah. She happened to be the only one home when Seth returned. Despite all the problems he had with her, the moment she saw his desperate face, her heart went out to him and she embraced her little brother, letting him cry in her arms. She begged him not to leave to find Tara but she knew that would be a losing battle.

Then she helped Seth pack and offered to go with him - not for the love of Tara of course, but for the love of her brother. When he tried to refuse her in order to protect her, she told him he didn't have a choice.

"I'm going too!" Renesmee said to Jacob when he explained the plan to her.

"No!" Jacob roared.

"Yes! I almost lost you once I can't bear to lose you again Jake, please take me. She's my friend too," she wailed

"Ness this is no place for you. It's too dangerous. I want you to stay with Sue and Charlie till we get back."

Tears rolled down her cheeks and she began to sob. "But what if you don't Jake? What if I never see you again?" She put her hands in her face.

Jacob grabbed her and wrapped his big arms around her holding her tight. "Shhh, Don't cry. It'll be okay. We _will _come back, you'll see." He rocked her and stroked her long, soft curls that hung down her back.

"I'm so scared. I'm afraid of losing you, and mom and dad. I'll have no one Jake. I'll be all alone. You're all leaving me," she cried.

He grabbed her by the arms and looked her in the eyes sternly. "I swear to you, I _will_ come back to you, and I will protect Edward and Bella and the others. We'll do what we have to in order to survive. Just trust me, okay?" Renesmee nodded.

Jacob _was_ scared though. He knew it was a huge risk going there. Despite his fears however, he wanted to fight them- _badly._ For all they had done to his family, and all the grief they had caused, he was ready to finally fight for them once and for all.

**VOLTERRA** looked just as Tara remembered it. There were some newer building and shops but for the most part it looked unchanged.

The place the Volturi brought her however, looked completely unchanged with its antiquated appearance still intact, not even looking a day older than when she left. The same art work hung on the walls, the same furniture in the corridors and rooms, all perfectly preserved like she had never left.

Felix looked like a giant next to Tara. He escorted her to a large room that looked much like the one her family was murdered in. However, this one had only _one_ way in or out. The large, heavy door could only be locked and unlocked from the outside of the room. Not one that she couldn't break down to get out if she wanted to, but she knew she could never leave without penalty now. Felix entered the room with her. "You'll stay here for now," he said to her.

"What's this?" she asked.

"Mmm let's just call it…_detox_." she chuckled coldly.

As he started to step out, Tara began to follow him. "Wait!" she demanded but giant vampire jerked around and shoved her back tossing her across the room. Her body looked like a rag doll as it slammed into the wall on the other side.

"We'll see you in a few days to see if you're hungry." His vile grin made her uneasy as he pulled the door shut. The enormous bolt clanged as he locked it tight. Then Felix stood on the other side to guard the door as instructed.

It took several days before Tara's eyes began to darken and the aching thirst to set in. When she thought she couldn't take it anymore, deciding she would thrash the door until someone brought her food, she finally heard a commotion outside the room. It sounded very much like muffled cries. Suddenly, the bolt on the door moved, creaking as it opened. Demitri brought a young girl in. She looked about the age of twenty. When the girl started to shriek he clenched her neck tighter so she couldn't scream as he dragged her along. "Here we go…I saved one for you. I know it was a long wait, I'm sure you're thirsty by now."

Tara shook her head and coiled back in the corner.

"Ah come on now. You must feed. You need your strength. Surely you didn't think Aro would allow us to bring any animals in here for you," he laughed.

As Demitri held her by the neck, he exposed the flesh on one side. He dug his sharp pinky finger into the skin slicing a shallow opening down the side. Blood oozed out of the gash. He licked the blood and the girl cried out in pain. He covered her mouth again, annoyed by the sound. "Mmm… do you smell that Tara? It's calling you," he taunted her.

Tara turned to face the wall as the smell of the blood burned her throat. She balled her hands into fists struggling with the temptation. She tried to cover her mouth with both hands and hold her breath.

"Ah well, I'll just leave you two alone. Eventually you'll give in." He tossed the girl to the side and she crawled away from him cowering on the floor.

"Please, please let me go!" the girl pleaded as tears ran down her face but Demitri just coldly walked back out of the room. The door made a loud noise as he sealed it again.

The girl looked at Tara in horror, clearly seeing she was one of them. She got up and tried to pull at the doors to get out but there were no handles. She tried to dig her fingers into the crack to pull it open, screaming and crying as she struggled effortlessly to get out.

Tara curled up into a ball on the floor and disappeared from the girl's view. It was hard to concentrate while she was so thirsty. Her powers weakened from hunger and she buried her face in her knees attempting to cover the smell as she held her breath.

Within a few hours, the large door opened up again and Aro stepped in the room. He saw the human girl lying on the floor, still alive and weeping, but no sign of Tara. "Where are you Tara? I know you're still here. No hiding from us remember?" he reminded her.

Tara remained cloaked.

He looked down at the human girl, huddled on the floor. "_Agh_! What a waste," he snarled, grabbing the girl by the arm and pulled her into him. The girl screamed when Aro ripped her shirt from her neck, smelling the blood coming from her wound. His mouth opened wide, exposing his perfect set of razor sharp teeth.

As he sunk them into her neck Tara uncloaked lunging forward with one arm stretched out. "NO!" she shouted.

Aro pulled away, blood dripping from his mouth. He pulled a small hanky from his pocket and dabbed his mouth eloquently as if he was in a fancy restaurant and had dribbled a little food on his chin. He carelessly threw the girl down and she began to thrash as the venom spread through her body. "There now, I did the hard part for you. Go ahead. You know you need it, you're only making yourself weaker by refusing and you're no good to us that way." He began to walk out but then turned back quickly to speak again. "You better hurry before the venom spreads too far…then you won't want her any longer."

Then he disappeared.

Tara's pitch black eyes watched as the girl wreathed in pain on the floor screaming from the fiery venom in her veins. Suddenly she lunged for the girl, hovering over her body. The she knelt by the girls side and inhaled. The smell of the blood burned her throat. "Please help me," the girl pleaded.

"I can save you. Do you want to live?"

"Make the pain stop!" she screamed.

Her eyes were fierce and hungry. "I can't. The venom is spreading through your body. I'm going to drink your blood, but you can still live…if you want to."

Tara knew she could drink just enough to make her stronger but that she could stop herself just enough to allow the girl's heart to beat.

"Will I stop hurting?" she cried. Tears poured down her face as her body convulsed.

"No. Not unless I drain you, but you'll die then." She shrieked louder.

"Stop screaming, it doesn't do any good!" Tara yelled at her. Her head was aching and her body was starting to hurt now. She wanted to feed, badly.

"I'm on fire! Please! Stop it from burning!" the girl wailed.

"You're changing. You must endure it if you want to live. Make a decision! I can't hold back much longer."

Tara's eyes were fixed on the blood pouring from the base of her neck.

"Changing? Into what?" The girl looked in Tara's eyes.

"One of us."

"No! I don't want to be a monster! Please, I wanna go home! Where's Steven?" The girl screamed the name of her husband.

"If he came with you he's dead. You can never leave. They won't let you."

She girl thrashed about, sobbing. "No! No! Steven!"

The couple had been in Italy on their honeymoon. They were pulled into the same tourist trap that her and her family fell into. Tara was unaware that they had even stayed at the same hotel that she and her family did in Piazza dei Priori.

"Decide now! Do you want to live?" Tara demanded, aching for her blood.

"No, no!…I don't want to live without him. I'd rather be dead…please make it stop!"

Tara couldn't bear it anymore. It wasn't just the enticing smell of the blood oozing from the girls neck that drove her to the bite, but also knowing she could spare this girl the pain of living forever alone, without the one she loved. Tara realized she'd spend the rest of her very long existence only to never see or smell or taste the one she person she'd loved more than anything. She pulled the girl in close and bit down on her neck. As the warm blood trickled down her throat she felt the sorrow and grief being pulled from her lifeless body transferring into her own. Images of Seth ran through her head over and over. She remembered his sweet words to her, telling her she was not the monster anymore. She felt as though she failed him. Tara bit down more violently, gripping the girl tightly to body as she drained her. Once every drop was removed she released and let her fall to the floor. Streams of blood ran down her chin. She balled her hands into fists and threw her head back screaming for her broken heart.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14 - The Fight**

Though Carlisle had connections, it still took several days to get passports for Seth, Leah and Jacob. Eleven of them total, all headed to the airport. Renesmee reluctantly agreed to stay behind to be protected by Sam's pack on the reservation.

Knowing it would be a long flight, Carlisle insisted Seth take something to help him sleep on the plane because so he would be rested before he they arrived. Seth felt so sick and anxious that the stress began to wear on him. Carlisle told him he would be no good to Tara or anyone if he were too weak to fight. Seth agreed and accepted some pills that Carlisle brought with them and he passed out very shortly once their flight took off.

Though they had Bella's shield to protect them, the Cullens hoped that traveling with the pack would be an advantage by clouding Demetri's tracking abilities. They didn't want the Volturi to know of their plans before they arrived, even though they didn't have much of a plan at all. They were completely unsure as to how they would be able to find Tara and get everyone out alive. Carlisle knew it would be a while before they allowed her to go out in public and put her to work as a 'fisher' for them again. He also worried that Aro would have Chelsea use her ability manipulate the ties of relationships on Tara in order to persuade her to turn on them. Chelsea could manipulate her into wanting to stay there, making their rescue entirely futile. He mentioned none of these things to Seth however, knowing he was already in enough pain. Edward and Carlisle knew that Bella's shield would be most useful if they got into a battle. He hoped it would be enough for the wolves to help take them down if it came to that.

The sun began to set as they finally arrived in the city.

Traveling on foot, Carlisle took them deep into the heart of Volterra and led then down a dark alleyway, stopping when they came to a dead end.

The Jacob, Seth and Leah were confused.

"Did we take a wrong turn?" Jacob asked looking around for an exit.

"Nope, this is it," Carlisle grabbed the heavy of a lid of a manhole in the ground and yanked it up. It had to be at least one-hundred pounds of solid iron but Carlisle lifted it as easy as retrieving a quarter off the street.

Jacob, Seth and Leah all gave him an odd look.

"What? Did you think we were going to use the front door?" Carlisle said to them.

The three of them exchanged glanced with one another.

"Good point," Seth shrugged his shoulders.

"Normally I would say ladies first but I'd rather go down myself to scope the area," Carlisle offered just before he leaped down the hole.

"Right behind ya," Emmett said, eagerly wanting to help.

They all waited quietly and patiently for the signal to move forward as Edward listened to their thoughts. Once it was clear, he silently motioned with his hand and they all started climbing down.

"Do they even _have_ a front door?" Leah mumbled as she looked down the dark hole.

"Yes... the one for the tourists," Edward replied in an icy tone.

"Oh," Leah said blankly. She was completely clueless.

It didn't sink in right away exactly what he meant by that. Edward knew she was confused but he felt this wasn't a good time to explain things. He was glad she didn't ask and just jumped down, disappearing into the ground.

Though the vampires saw everything very clearly in the blackness of the underground tunnel, the pack was at a disadvantage in their human form, blinded by the darkness. They each had to be lead as they walked down the cold, damp corridor.

They walked for nearly a mile until they began to see some light. They finally came to a giant wrought iron gate that had an enormous chain and lock on it. Edward bent it like it was made of tin and broke it off. The chain fell to the ground with a loud clang.

Leah thought it careless of him to make so much noise. "Are you t_rying_ to get us noticed?" she retorted.

Edward turned around and gave her an irritated look. "_My bad_!" he hissed, clenching his teeth.

Everyone seemed a little too anxious.

Seth stepped between them to break up the tension. "Hey, how close are we?" he asked.

"Not far now," Carlisle replied quietly. "Let's keep the talking to a minimum shall we? He suggested.

"But wait, what's the plan? What are we gonna do when we get in there?" Emmett interrupted. He was ready for a fight.

"_Plan A_, we try and sneak in and find Tara. _Plan B_, I'll try to negotiate with Aro once more if I can," Carlisle said.

"Is there a _Plan C_?" Emmett asked, hopeful.

"Yes, that's the one we are trying to avoid," Carlisle replied.

"Not me! I want a piece of these guys," Emmett said eagerly as she punched the palm of his hand with the other fist.

"Easy, we don't want to be a threat. We will defend ourselves if necessary but I don't want to see anyone get hurt so I'm hoping we can do this without conflict."

"Well, I'm not," Emmett replied again.

"Me either," Jasper agreed.

They looked at each other and then threw a high-five in the air. Jacob, Seth and Leah all smiled at them, hoping for a fight as well.

"Yeah it's been awhile since we've been able to take out some vampires," Jacob said with enthusiasm, but then he glanced over at the others. "No offense," he added with a shrug.

"None taken," Jasper replied casually.

Then Emmett and Jasper high-fived as well.

"Alright now listen..." Carlisle spoke directly to the Pack in a very serious tone. "You three need to do exactly as you are told while we are here. I'll handle the Volturi if we are confronted. I want you to remain silent and let us handle this. This is not your territory. You need to control your phasing."

"But what if they attack us?" Jacob didn't like being told what to do.

"Then we will fight back. But Edward will know if they plan to do so. It's crucial that you wait until he is sure though."

They all nodded.

The group continued on. They entered a large room with stone walls and no windows, anywhere. It was dimly lit by candles that hung on the cobblestone walls. It looked very much like an old dungeon. There was a peculiar smell there. The Pack couldn't quite identify it but the Cullens new exactly what it was.

They passed several cells with iron-barred doors on them. All of them were empty except for one. It was filled with bodies, about twenty of them. All were tourists. The girl they brought for Tara lay on the top of the pile. Leah suddenly realized what Edward had meant now. She gasped in horror as soon as she saw them but when she spotted the crumpled bodies of two small children in front of the mass, she let out a shrill scream. Emmett grabbed her quickly to cover to her mouth. Tears ran down her face as she sobbed into his icy hand. Edward looked her in the eyes and put his fingers to his lips telling her to hush. They didn't have time for emotions or hysterics right now. She nodded agreeing and Emmett let go of her. Seth instantly put his arms around his sister and held her for a moment to calm her. He covered her eyes so she could no longer see the pile of bodies until they passed the cell.

They came to another bolted door. Emmett grabbed the bolt and slowly started to unlatch it trying not to make any noise. Once it was slid far enough that they could open it, he gently pulled. It started to creek and he stopped to look at Carlisle, wondering if he should continue. When he gave him a nod of approval, Emmett pulled it open all the way.

On the other side of the door, Jane, Alec and Felix already stood waiting for them.

The Pack growled at the site of them. They were about to phase when Carlisle held his hand up to the group, signaling them to hold and they quieted themselves.

Jane stood motionless like a statue, unthreatened by their presence."Aro will speak to you now," she said in a flat, icy tone. Her red eyes glared at them coldly.

The Cullens very tensely all looked at each other, wondering what to do.

"Follow me," Jane ordered them from behind the hood of her black cloak. Then she spun on her heals, twirling the long cape behind her and began to walk away.

Alec and Felix pulled their hoods off so the group could see their callous faces. The two waited for them all to start following Jane. Carlisle motioned for them to move and then they walked behind them. The Pack kept glaring back, watching them as they walked. They were completely untrusting and on guard the entire way.

Edward listened to the group's thoughts.

"_We should t__ake them out now_!" Jacob shouted in his head.

The others all shared the same idea.

Edward turned and held up a finger, giving them a stern that signaled for them to wait. They all grumbled.

Jane led them to a large antechamber where Aro, Marcus and Cias all sat in very large thrones that appeared centuries old. Jane turned quickly snapping up her hand, signaling for them to stop in the back of the room.

When they stopped, Aro greeted them. "Carlisle my friend, what a surprise! How nice of you to visit so soon," he cackled.

Carlisle looked around the room counting bodies. Renata, Aro's personal guard stood at his side. Corin, Demitri and Heidi entered the room just after they did and stood to the side, awaiting orders.

"_There's less than I expected_," Carlisle thought.

Edward listened carefully nodding at him.

"_That's good_," he added.

Edward listened to the Volturi also. They weren't expecting them at all. Aro summoned as many as he could once he discovered their presence. Many of them were out on a hunt or partaking in leisure activities since it was nightfall.

Suddenly, another small figure in a long black cloak entered the room with Chelsea. They both stopped just in front of Aro's seat.

"_Tara!"_ Seth thought.

Edward glanced at him quickly then looked back at her, listening intently.

She stood motionless facing Aro but suddenly something in the room caught her attention. She detected a familiar scent in the room but thought it was just her mind played tricks. When her eyes met Aro's, she detected a chilling grin on his face. Then she noticed something else; the three heartbeats in the room. She knew it couldn't be the heartbeats of any normal humans since they were not accompanied by the usual screams.

Suddenly Marcus spoke. "Amazing Master," he chortled. "The tall one's reverence for her is remarkable. You were right, he _will _be a problem."

Tara's head snapped around and she saw them - all of them.

When her eyes widened, they all spotted the crimson red in them as she stared in near shock. Emotions flooded her mind and heart, softening her inner soul.

She turned back to Aro feeling betrayed. "But _why_? You said if I returned you wouldn't harm them!"

When she took a step forward in Aro's direction and his female body guard leaped forward as to protect him.

"Easy my dear…I didn't force them, Carlisle and his family came here on their own accord. They traveled a long way to see you. Surely you don't want me to send them away."

Tara looked back that them. "Yes I do. Send them home, _now_. I don't want them here!" she snapped as she stared intently at Edward and finished the last part in her head.

"_Go back to Forks, where it's safe_!" she thought.

"I'm not leaving," Seth whispered in an angry tone.

Carlisle grabbed Seth's arm, warning him not to speak. He knew it was dangerous enough to have him in there without him making a bigger spectacle of himself.

"Nonsense, they came such a long way to see you my dear, let's not be so hasty," Aro spoke very calmly as though he was amused.

Tara glanced at Seth and then quickly lowered her eyes in shame so he couldn't see them anymore. Then she turned back and stepped towards Aro. Renata closed in blocking him. She knelt down on one knee and held her hand out to him. Aro accepted the invitation and reached out taking her hand in his.

"_What's she doing_?" Seth asked mentally, knowing Edward would hear him.

"Talking to him," Edward whispered as he kept his eyes on the guards.

"_What's she saying to him_?" he wondered.

"She's telling me not to tell you," Edward confessed.

"_I don't care tell me anyway_!" Seth shouted in his head at Edward.

"You're not gonna like it," Edward warned.

"_Edward_!" Seth became impatient.

Edward sighed at Seth's persistence. "She's begging him for your lives. She doesn't think Aro is going to let you three out of here alive. She promised to anything for him in order to save you."

Several profanities ran through Seth's mind.

"I _told_ you, you wouldn't like it," Edward reminded him.

"_I'm going to kill him Edward. I'm going to rip his throat out myself_!"

"Calm down Seth. They'll take it as a threat if you phase. They only reason they haven't killed you is because you're still human," he whispered.

As Tara held Aro's hand he was able to see every event of her entire life. How she escaped, every place she was in hiding, and everything that took place after she arrived in Forks. Aro was most displeased with her relationship with Seth.

"_Please Aro, I beg you let them go. Send them away. I'll do anything you ask of me_," Tara pleaded.

Aro signaled to Chelsea who turned her powers back onto Tara.

Tara started to feel a hatred for them as Chelsea manipulated her into betraying her friends. The anger swelled inside of her and she began to snarl. She snapped around to face her visitors, ready to attack.

"Bella," Edward whispered, signaling her to protect Tara.

When Bella put up her shield, Tara relaxed.

Aro held up his hand, signaling for Chelsea to stop. He knew their powers were no use against Bella's shield.

He stood up and strolled across the room as he spoke to her. "Evolution, mutation, natural selection...we are the _future _of mankind_._ Humans are evolving into a higher life form, and we are at the top of the food chain. You should accept this yet what do you do? You reject your destiny. You mingle with the enemy, having relations with you food. Such nonsense! You are a disgrace Tara." He frowned and angrily and slapped her across the face knocking her to the floor.

Seth growled and everyone else tensed up, ready to fight. Edward grabbed Seth before he could do anything.

"Wait!" he said in a low tone.

Seth closed his eyes. His body tensed up and trembled with fury, but he calmed himself and held back.

Carlisle finally spoke. "Aro, please, we come in peace. Will you hear us out?"

Aro signaled for his guard to hold back. "Of course, go ahead my dear friend."

Carlisle took a small step forward. "Please Aro, we've come peacefully to ask for the girl. She wishes to be with us. If she displeases you so let her much, just let us have her then."

"Carlisle, did you really come all this way to beg me to give her back to you?"

"That is correct."

Aro took a few steps towards them looking at the group. "I don't see Renesmee. Have you come to offer me a trade?" he asked.

A deep grumble came from Bella's chest as he mentioned her name.

"No we did not bring Renesmee with us. This is no place for her. She belongs with those who love her for who she is and not just her gifts. I will however, offer myself to you as an exchange for the girl," Carlisle said.

Esme gasped just before the others did as soon as he said it.

Carlisle immediately started to talk to Edward in secrecy. "_If he accepts, you take the family far away, leave Forks and go in hiding. Bella can protect the others from harm and I will do everything in my power to leave here and join you as soon as time allows."_

Edward gave him a small nod to let him know he acknowledged him.

"Ah Carlisle, you are such a noble man indeed. How I would love to have one such as you back in my coven. You truly have many redeeming qualities, however, please take no offence when I say that Tara's gifts greatly surpass yours, therefore I must refuse."

Carlisle continued to negotiate. "But Aro, she doesn't want this life. She wants to be free. Surely you can see that. What good is she to you if she is completely unwilling?"

"Ah yes…that _is_ going to be a problem. It's been very hard to persuade her you see. Her bonds with this wolf are very strong however, I feel if the bindings can be removed then there will be no problem." Aro stepped closer, glancing directly at Seth. "And the way I see it… I have my problem _right here._"

Edward knew right then Aro had no intentions of letting the Pack leave alive. It was to his benefit to have them come there so he could wipe them out. He figured it would be very easy since there were only the three of them. He was also hoping that Carlisle wouldn't put up a fight. He had no desire to kill his friend however he would do whatever it took to get his way. He had no love for the Pack and for all he cared, they were completely expendable.

"I have no qualms with you or your family Carlisle, you are free to go. I cannot however allow these _beasts_ to leave now that they have seen where we abide. I fear they could be threat to us if they were to inform others of their kind where we are. I have no choice but to exterminate them."

His guards started towards the group and everyone took their stance, ready for the impact.

Tara knew what Aro intended to do. "No!" she screamed and she leaped in the air, grabbing Alec who had his sights on Seth.

Aro gave orders to kill him first. Alec grabbed her and threw her across the room but she quickly got up and ran for him again. Jane swiftly drifted in front of her twin and held up a finger. Tara gasped expecting to feel pain but there was nothing. Bella shielded her still. Tara understood the full extent of Bella's powers now and she grinned. Jane became furious and attacked her physically. Alec continued on his warpath while Jane kept her occupied.

Seth growled and with a thunderous sound his body phased into a giant wolf. It triggered a domino effect in Jacob and Leah and they all stood snarling and growling ready to take down Alec.

Aro stepped back, keeping his distance so he couldn't be harmed. Renata and the other four women surrounded him making a wall between him and the outbreak. Demitri and Felix stepped up as the wolves began to charge. Bella remained steady, holding her shield over everyone. The rest of the Cullens began to leap into the fight one by one.

Edward feared to leave Bella behind. They needed her protection, for they knew the fight would be a loss without her to guard them from Jane, Alec and Chelsea's powers.

"Go! I'm fine!" Bella yelled at him.

Edward was reluctant to leave her side until Esme and Carlisle both came and stood by Bella assuring him they would guard her.

Alice and Jasper stuck together as they fought. They were inseparable, watching each other's back.

Just then, Aro motioned to Cias. He held a large, ornate metal object. Their eyes all diverted towards it, remembering when Cias had used the object on Irina. It killed her instantaneously leaving nothing but ash remains of her body.

Cias, Marcus and Demitri surrounded the pack. They were ready to attack, awaiting the order from Aro.

"Let it be done," was all he spoke before they closed in on wolves.

Just as they got ready to make their strike, they suddenly stopped and stood completely bewildered looking around the room. The three wolves were gone.

The pack stared back at them confused, wondering why they stopped.

"_What are they waiting for_?" Jacob thought.

"_I don't know. What's happening_?" Seth wondered.

The Volturi gasped as they looked around the room completely stunned. The Cullens were gone as well.

"_Edward hurry_! _Do what you have to. I don't know how long I can do this for!"_ Tara screamed in her head.

She cloaked everyone. As the group vanished from the Volturi's sight, they backed down in their state of confusion.

"_Edward, take them down, now! You won't have another chance like this_!" Tara shouted in her head.

He knew she was right, even if they could escape they may come back for them in higher numbers. He knew Carlisle wouldn't like it but he saw no other way.

"They can't see us…attack them!" Edward shouted.

Seth knew Tara cloaked all of them by creating an illusion in their minds to hide them. He let Jacob and Leah know.

"_They can't see us, let's get em_!" Seth shouted to them.

"_Yes_!" Jacob thought. He decided he might be able to like her after all. Just a little bit.

The three of them each took a guard. Cias never saw Seth coming at his. He took him out first. Cias screamed as his limbs were torn from his body.

The others watched in horror as the wolves ripped the three men into shreds within seconds. Body pieces flew everywhere.

Aro's and two of his female guards became fearful and fled escaping into hidden corridor. Seth spotted them trying to run and he took off after them. The others stood their ground however, determined to battle to the death.

At this moment, several things began to happen simultaneously.

Jane still had a grip on Tara even though she was unable to see her. She continued to struggle with her trying to break free from her grip and throw her off. Jane gripped Tara's throat and then struck her in the face. As they fell to the ground, Tara lost her concentration. Suddenly the Cullens and the wolves realized they were no longer concealed while Jane had her in her grip. Tara tried desperately to reach up and grab Jane's throat but Jane overpowered her and pinned her down while striking her in the head repeatedly.

Felix suddenly headed for Bella, knowing if he took her out they could defeat them easily. Edward and Emmett lunged at him both struggling violently to keep him back. Carlisle and Esme stood in front of Bella, guarding her.

Jacob and Leah backed Alec in a corner. Alec lunged for Jacob, clawing and snapping his venomous teeth. He came very close to biting Jacob but Leah managed to grab him by the neck and sunk her fangs in and shook him like a rag dog doll. She tore open his throat and threw him across the room. His body fell lifelessly to the ground. Jane shrieked when her twin was taken down.

"_Thanks_," Jacob said to her.

"_No problem_," she replied as they high-pawed.

Rosalie managed to stop Corin before she could flee the room. They struggled taking out a pillar and smashing two of the ornate thrones as they fought.

Felix held his own against Edward and Emmett. He muscled both of them off and managed to close in on Esme and Carlisle. Bella started backing up as he neared, still holding her shield in the group.

Felix grabbed Carlisle by the neck and slammed him up against the wall. Esme jumped on his back and reached around to his face digging her fingers in his eyes. He let out a huge growl before reaching around and pulling Esme off with almost no effort and then threw her across the room.

"Esme!" Carlisle shouted as he watched his wife crash into a stone table and fall to the ground.

Alice suddenly leaped at Jane's head and forced her to release her grip on Tara. Jane then reached up to grab Alice's arms to pull them off.

Jasper came to Alice's rescue, holding her so she couldn't get away. Jane hissed and snarled as she struggled with them.

Before Alice could Jane's neck, something hit her hard. It was Alec. His neck had completely healed. He attacked Alice making Jasper let go of Jane but Jacob and Leah leaped to Tara's side before she get to her again.

Felix nearly reached Bella. When lunged for her, she quickly jumped out of the way, dodging his grasp and he slammed into the wall. Felix became even more enraged. He snarled furiously as he spun back around, however when he did, he saw only Jane and Alec who stood across the room looking at him.

Everyone else vanished again.

Now that she was free, Tara concealed them once more. Edward, the first to realize it, jumped at Felix and knocked him to the ground. He struggled with the invisible force that pounded him.

Jane decided they were too out-numbered and she fled. Leah and Jacob followed her.

The rest of them took down Felix and Alec and Corin.

Alec ran aimlessly, trying to get out but failed. Jasper and Alice both leaped on him.

Edward, Emmett and Carlisle took out Felix while the girls went after Corin. They pulled apart their limbs and ripped off their heads. Bodies were in pieces everywhere.

"We have to burn them quickly," Carlisle said.

Some of the limbs still twitched on the ground. Alice smashed a wood table and broke it into pieces to get it started. The others gathered the body parts.

"I'm going after Jacob and Leah. They need my help to kill Jane!" Bella cried out.

Edward started to follow but noticed Tara looking around the room for Seth.

"He went after Aro," he said to her before running off with Bella

Tara knew exactly where Aro would be hiding and she ran after him.

Jacob and Leah followed Jane's scent down a long corridor. They came to an enormous room that filled with art. A conglomeration of famous paintings hung on the stone walls. The ancient tables around the room displayed various statues and vases. Directly in the center was a giant antique rug that had been pulled back and a hole in the ground underneath it was exposed. They both looked down the opening knowing they wouldn't fit.

"_Shoot! She got away!"_ Leah thought.

Just as Jacob began to look up, he saw Heidi falling from the ceiling.

"_Leah look out!"_ he shouted.

She landed on Leah who growled and thrashed to get her off but just before Jacob could help her, Chelsea appeared.

"This is for Marcus!" she snarled as she swung her claws at him, striking him in the head and then sending him across the room.

He smashed into two of the tables, crushing the vases that sat upon them. The ancient pieces of art nearly disintegrated.

Leah couldn't shake Heidi off so she slammed her body against the wall trying to crush the vampire. It felt like ramming into a solid rock on shoulder and she yelped. Leah tried to get her head around far enough to bite her. She rolled and thrashed on the floor trying desperately to break free from the vampire's grip.

When Jacob got back up and charged Chelsea, she leaped in the air and he slid into more tables across the room smashing everything in his path. As Jacob stood and shook it off, he realized Leah needed his help. Heidi gripped Leah's head, getting ready to snap her neck. He sprung across the room and landed on top of them both. Then he took Heidi's head in his enormous jaws and bit down. In one giant snap, he finished her and her body fell to the ground. Chelsea snarled and hissed at them for killing her friend but realizing she was outnumbered now, she made a run for the hole in the ground, disappearing before they could get her.

"_Let's find the others, they made need more help_," Jacob thought.

Leah nodded at him but as they both turned around, they stood face-to-face with Jane who blocked their only exit. She knew she could defeat the two wolves now that Bella was no longer there to protect them and just as they were both about to attack her she lifted her finger and both Jacob and Leah howled loudly, collapsing to the ground in agony. Jacob hoped Edward or Seth could hear their mental cries for help and come save them.

Edward did. "We have to go…this way!" he said to Bella and they ran at lightning speed in their direction, following the bellowing sounds that echoed throughout the halls.

Seth still searched for Aro, trying to track his scent but every room he came to was empty. The place gave him an eerie feeling and he smelled a nauseating odor throughout it. It was the smell of death that lingered through the halls and rooms. He followed Aro's scent to a dimly lit chamber. When Seth's eyes adjusted, he realized he'd entered what appeared to be a giant a library with rows and rows of books stacked on shelves as high as the vaulted ceilings above. It looked like a maze. Seth ran in and out of the rows searching. Aro's scent became stronger but his concentration was distracted when he heard the mental screams of Leah and Jacob. He suddenly bolted for the door he came in but found himself face to face with Aro and Renata. The female guard leaped at Seth and he viciously snapped at her, tearing the flesh from her arm. She screamed when his claws sliced enormous gashes into her skin. Then Renata jumped on him ripping at his fur and he yelped and then shook her off his back throwing her across the room. He lunged before she could get back up and bit her face damaging her eyes, completely blinding her. When Seth saw Aro coming at him from the corner of his eye, he turned towards him. Aro nearly bit him, coming only inches from his face with his razor sharp teeth when Seth suddenly pounced on him, sinking his fangs into Aro's neck and ripping out his throat. Aro thrashed as he lay on the ground gripping his wound. He finished Aro with one last bite, snapping his neck in two, killing the old vampire with ease.

When Seth turned back he spotted Renata. Her crimson eyes were completely healed. She stood staring at him, snarling angrily for killing her master. He stood ready for her attack but instead of doing so, she fled. Seth thought about chasing her until he heard the screams coming from Jacob and Leah still.

As he turned to run to them, he heard a familiar voice call his name.

"Seth!" Tara shouted as she came running at him.

He barely saw the blur heading in his direction, until she stopped right in front of him. Without an exchange of words, she simply reached up and touched his face. He wanted very much to be able to hold her but didn't want to phase, just in case they weren't out of danger. Tara put her arms around his neck and embraced him and he was just happy to feel her arms around him again.

Suddenly he knew something was wrong, _very_ wrong. A low growl came deep from Tara's chest that made Seth's fur stand strait up on his back. She pulled back away from him. When he saw her eyes, he knew he was in danger. She looked at him with a savage fierceness that he'd never seen before. The growl got louder and he knew she was going to attack.

"_NO_!" Seth let out a mental cry but she could not hear him. He leaped back snapping at her putting a gash in her face and arms as he struggled with him.

She quickly lunged at him again, this time sinking her teeth into his shoulder and he let out a painful howl that echoed through the halls….

In the other room, Jane went for the reddish brown wolf first since he was the largest. He lay on the ground thrashing and yelping and entirely crippled from the pain. Jane smiled victoriously as she looked Jacob in the eyes getting ready rip his heart out with her bare hand.

When she leaned into his face to say something he felt her icy breath on his snout.

"As soon as I'm finished killing you and your friend here, I'm heading straight to Forks and I'm going to find that little half-breed child and destroy her for what you've done!"

Jacob growled, trying move and fight through the pain but he didn't even have the strength to lift his head. As she raised her hand to strike, his wailing suddenly ceased. Bella made it just in time and shielded them. The second the pain had stopped, he ripped into Jane's face like a rabid animal. Leah grabbed Jane's lower limbs and pulled her apart, taking her out with a fierce vengeance.

"_Thanks Bella,_" Jacob thought, though only Edward could hear him.

Then he licked Bella face. She complained, wiping the wetness from her cheek but soon after she gave Jacob a big hug.

Within seconds though, Jacob sensed something was wrong. He and Leah looked at each other. Chills ran down their spines as they heard Seth's cries for help. Edward heard him too and they moved quickly in his direction.

Seth yelped in agony as the fiery venom spread and his body trembled violently.

Tara suddenly snapped out of it. It was as though the voice in her head left her mind and suddenly she realized what she'd done. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Chelsea standing in the shadows, grinning at her. Fearful that the others would soon be coming to Seth's aid, she disappeared into the shadows. Tara let her flee, unable to leave Seth's side. The taste of his blood lingered in her mouth.

"No! No!" She screamed in panic, remembering how he told her the venom was deadly to them.

Seth's body shook and twisted as he returned to his human form and the howls turned into screams.

"Oh God, no! What have you done? I'm burning!" he shrieked in agony.

"Seth!" she shouted as she held him in her arms.

"_No, no! What have I done! I've killed him! He rescued me and I've killed him! This can't be happening_!" she shouted in her mind.

Seth screamed as his body thrashed. His muscles started contracting, immobilizing him.

Then she quickly recalled the story Edward told her the day before she left, explaining how he saved Bella when a vampire named James bit her and he drew the venom out of her before it spread too far.

"_Don't bite down, just draw the venom out_," she remembered.

Tara looked at the bloody wound. She pulled Seth in closer and he became terrified.

"Tara, don't please. Stop!" he begged.

She didn't have time to explain. She forced herself on him and sucked the blood from his open wound. It was bitter. She didn't like it but she drank harder. Seth screamed for her to stop. He pulled at her hair to get her off, but it was useless. When he lost conciseness, his body fell limp in her arms and she no longer tasted the sweet venom, only bitterness.

She stopped.

"Seth! Seth!" she shouted as she touched his face, bushing his hair back with her hand.

Just then she heard a rushing wind from behind her. All of the others caught up. When Leah and Jacob no longer heard Seth's cries for help they feared for his life. They all gasped when they saw Seth's bloodied body, collapsed in Tara's arms. Her mouth had blood on it too. Only Edward knew the truth at the moment, the others thought the worst.

Leah growled at Tara. She wanted to snap her neck. Jacob stood in complete disbelief at what he was witnessing. Edward quickly ran to Seth and grabbed him before the others could react. Carlisle knelt with him too.

"I remembered to do what you said. I tried to get the venom out," Tara cried

Edward sniffed the wound. He couldn't smell any venom. He tasted the blood and it was clean.

"NO!" Leah shouted at Edward. "Stop drinking my brother's blood!"

He ignored her.

"Did I get all?" Tara asked.

"His blood is clean, the venom is all gone," Edward said to Carlisle.

"He'll be ok, but we should get him to a medical facility," Carlisle said.

"But we can't, they'll run tests on him it's too dangerous!" Jacob said.

"We can't worry about that. I may know some doctors still here that can help. There's a small hospital in the next town. Alice…we need a car!" Carlisle ordered.

"I'm on it!" She said and her and Jasper dashed off.

The others finished burning the rest of the bodies and then they got Seth out of there quickly.

Seth lay for nearly four hours in a hospital bed, still unconscious. When daylight came, they closed the shades on the windows in the room to keep the sunlight out. The Cullens need to stay out of the sunlight once the sun rose. They didn't have the convenience of the heavy cloud covered skies there.

Edward and Bella went the airport before morning, to take care of flight arrangements and would be returning at twilight. The others mostly stayed towards the inner parts of the hospital avoiding the rooms that were brightly lit up from the sun that shone through the windows and skylights. Carlisle came in once in awhile to check on Seth but they left Tara alone with him while she patiently waited for him to wake.

Jacob became hungry after quite some time and searched for a cafeteria following the smells in the halls. Though Leah wanted food as well, she refused to leave Seth alone with Tara who she still didn't trust even though Edward told her she'd saved his life. She didn't care since it was she who bit him in the first place. She'd hoped this would rid them of Tara since biting a human, breaks the treaty, however on a technicality they were not on their land. Even more importantly, Jacob believed it was not her will to harm Seth. He knew she was being controlled and that it wasn't her fault. He made the decision to over-look the incident. Though Leah wasn't pleased with his decision, she had no choice but to accept it.

Tara sat close to Seth's bed, staring blankly at the wall. Her mind was deep in thought. Occasionally she'd glance over at him. She felt horrible for what she did and the pain it caused him.

The slits of Seth's his eyes cracked open. He felt dazed and groggy. The overhead lights seemed bright at first, almost blinding, but once his eyes adjusted, he saw Tara sitting next to him.

When Tara noticed Seth heart beat getting faster, her eyes turned and met his. He glared at her crimson eyes that stared right at him.

The last thing he remembered was fighting Tara off. He only remembered how she looked just before she sunk her sharp teeth in his neck and he remembered the pain of it. It was like having hot lava poured into his veins, while every muscle in his body spasmed. It was pure agony.

Tara reached for Seth's hand to touch it and he pulled it back fast.

"Seth please," she whispered. She saw the fear in his expression.

""You _bit _me." Seth reached up and touched his shoulder and moaned when it ached. A bandage covered the area where it still hurt. "Don't touch me!" he said sharply.

Sadness came over her. "Seth… _listen_ to me."

"_No_, go away!" he growled at her.

Leah heard the commotion and came in. Tara stood up and backed away from him as he ordered her.

Leah gave her a bitter look. "What are you doing?" she demanded to know.

Tara couldn't stand to see his hate-filled eyes on her anymore and she made herself disappear right in front of them as she turned to leave.

Shortly after, Jacob showed up with some food and noticed Tara was gone. He saw the expression on Seth's face and knew something was wrong.

"Hey, what's going on?" he asked.

Nobody spoke. Seth put his hand to his face and tried to wipe the memory of Tara's bloodied face and fierce red eyes from his mind.

Jacob could tell he was in pain, but not a just physical pain, it was mental anguish.

"Seth…what happened? What's wrong? You ok buddy?"

"My shoulder hurts. I just want to be alone," he said in a shaky voice and he started to tremble.

Jacob turned to Leah. "Give us a minute please Leah," he requested.

Leah nodded and stepped out closing the door.

Jacob pulled up a chair and sat close to Seth waiting for him to respond. When he didn't say anything, Jacob decided to speak up.

"Where did Tara go?" he asked.

"I told her to go away."

"Why would you _do _that?"

"She bit me Jake. I remember it all now, she tried to kill me." He tried to move his arm and growled at the pain. "And why does it hurt so bad?"

"It's the venom. Carlisle said it'll pass." He looked at Seth confused. "Seth... she was the reason we came here you know...the reason we all risked our lives so we could get her out safely...for _you_."

"I know," he grumbled in a low tone.

"Then what the _hell _are you doing!" he questioned, raising his voice.

"She tried to kill me!"

Jacob shook his head. "Edward said he thinks that vampire Chelsea got to her, she tricked her mind and turned her on you. She didn't know what she was doing. I think she might've gotten to you too. Bella wasn't there to shield her. She turned you guys against each other."

Seth started to become more alert now but the image of Tara still burned in his mind.

"She saved you once she snapped out of it. Edward said she knew how to get the venom out of your system before it spread too far. We thought she was killing you too till he explained it to us. We didn't know what was happening. I thought you were a goner, dude."

Seth remembered the story Edward told them also. It all started getting clearer to him now. As Seth tried to sit up to quickly, he moaned from the sharp pain in his shoulder and neck.

"_Now_, what are you doing?" Jacob tried to grab him.

"I'm gonna go find her, she can't be far," he said trying to get up.

"You're in no condition. Stay put." Jacob shoved him back on the bed.

Seth groaned. "No!"

He tried to stand but suddenly started to fall to the floor, still too weak. Though the venom was gone, its paralyzing affects still lingered in his muscles that were aching from being tightly knotted up into balls when they contracted. He felt like he'd just been through a rigorous workout and pulled every muscle in his body.

"Carlisle said you would probably feel pretty lousy for a while. I don't think you're going anywhere. Don't worry, she'll come back for you. She loves you."

Seth hoped he was right. He was too harsh. He'd never spoke to her like that or looked at her that way before.

Seth's condition improved by nightfall, however Tara still hadn't returned and it worried him.

Carlisle wanted to get out of the city. A few of the Volturi still remained alive and he feared they may try to hunt them down while they were still there. They needed to disappear from the city, soon.

Edward and Bella promised to stay behind and look for Tara. They knew they would be the best team for the job since Bella can see her and Edward can hear her. Seth wanted to stay with them but they refused. He would only slow them down in human form and he certainly couldn't wander about as a wolf. Jacob ordered him to leave and reluctantly he complied.

Bella and Edward searched for a week nonstop, covering all of Italy. When they were sure she wasn't there, they decided to travel to New England and went to Dartmouth first to see if she returned to her hometown. They looked everywhere. Even Alice searched for her future but she couldn't see anything. Tara had truly disappeared and Edward now feared for the worst. He knew there were several Volturi still out there and he feared they may have gotten to her.

Bella longed to see Renesmee. She had been away from her longer than she ever had before and it was getting to be too much for her. Edward decided they would go home for now and try again later to look for her once they'd reunited with their daughter for a while.

As the next week passed, Seth became despondent at home. He only worked and slept and barely ate. When he came home from work he lay in his bed for hours till he finally dosed off. It was a vicious pattern that began to wear on him and Jacob could see it. He sent him home from work and ordered him to bathe himself and eat. Jacob was at a loss. It was as though his friend never came home.

Seth entered his house. With nobody at home, it was very quiet. He sat for a while trying to watch TV but his mind couldn't focus on anything. He remembered Jacob had ordered him to eat something so he searched the fridge for some food and came upon some left-over casserole that Sue made the night before. He didn't bother to heat it. The taste didn't even matter to him. He just scooped some right out of the container it was stored in and took a few mouthfuls. After he finished it with a soda, he felt a little more energized and went to the shower letting the hot water hit his body, removing some of his tension. Once he dried off, he walked down the hall to his room with towel wrapped around his waist. Then he grabbed a pair of jeans off the floor that he'd only worn once and slipped them on. He saw the shirt that Tara had put on the last night she was there. He put it to his nose and inhaled her scent. Then he quickly shoved it in a drawer and grabbed a fresh shirt. As he pulled it over his head he caught a glimpse of a dark figure standing in his room. It startled him and he leaped back. Her golden eyes stared at him.

She raised her hand out to him. "Please, don't be afraid," she whispered.

Seth's heart pounded. He shook his head and finished putting his arms through the sleeves of his shirt and then stepped towards her.

"I'm not...please, don't disappear on me ok?" he stepped closer, "I never thought I was gonna see you again." His heart beat faster now.

She looked down somberly. "I didn't think you wanted to."

Seth shook his head. "No, I'm sorry for what I said. I didn't mean it when I told you to leave. How long have you been here?" he asked.

"Two weeks," she said as her eyes looked back up at him.

His eyebrows rose. "T-two weeks? You've been in my room for two weeks?"

He suddenly realized that explained why they never found her and why Alice couldn't see her.

"Yes. I arrived here before you. I had no other place to go. No other place I _wanted_ to go. I thought maybe I could just be close to you and not let you see me and that would be enough. I've been watching you sleep every night," she confessed. "You don't sleep well."

He shook his head agreeing.

"And last night you called out my name. I wanted to wake you and hold you but I was afraid to touch you." Her lip trembled when she spoke.

He slowly walked over to her and stood right in front of her. She couldn't look him in the eyes. He saw the torment in her face.

"Seth, I just need you to hear me say that I'm sorr…"

He quickly cupped her face in his hands and crushed his lips to hers before she could finish.

She didn't resist. She felt her body melting against his and she parted her lips tasting his deep, warm kiss on her mouth.

He slid one arm around her waist and pulled her body in tight against his, then knotted his fingers in her hair with the other hand, holding her as though he'd never let go.

In a passionate embrace, they fell to the bed. There were no words between them because their lips never parted. Their bodies told each other what they wanted. He slid the long black cloak off of her body and took her without hesitation.

When their lips finally separated so he could catch his breath, he pulled the sheet over their bodies and held her close, softly caressing her shoulders.

Her head rested on his chest, listening to his heart as it thumped against her cheek.

"Seth," she whispered.

"Hmm?" His lips touched her hair.

She felt the heat from his breath as he spoke.

"You never let me finish apologizing."

She pulled back too look him in the eyes. "I'm sorry for leaving the way I did. I never wanted to hurt you that way. I hope you believe me when I say that."

"I do. I know you were just trying to protect my family and the Cullens. I understand."

"I wanted to protect you too. I was afraid the Volturi would kill you…and then…" She sat up in the bed. He sat up too and started to speak but she put her hand over his mouth so she could finish.

"...then you came for me. All of you came for me." She put her hand over his heart. "When I saw your face I feared for you. I told Aro to send you away but I wanted you so badly to take me away from there... I wanted to scream it."

"I'm right here. It's all behind us now." He brushed her hair back from her face.

She looked at his shoulder where she bit him and reached her hand over, touching the scar with her finger tips.

"I nearly killed you." Her face expressed her pain.

He took her hand in his. "You saved me. You got the venom out before it killed me. I didn't know that's what you were doing at the time. I was disoriented, I didn't know what was happening to me, but I understand it all now and I'm sorry for telling you to leave. I didn't mean it."

She lowered her eyes. "Do you…do you still love me?" she asked.

"Yes…of course. More than anything."

She grinned with a sigh and then looked up at him shaking her head. "Such a stupid creature."

He laughed.

"There's one more thing you need to know," she said.

"Okay." He waited curiously.

"While I was there, I had to feed… "

Seth remembered her red eyes. It indicated she'd fed on human blood.

"Tara you don't have to explain this to me," he interrupted.

"No I want to, please allow me to finish."

"Ok." He squeezed her arm.

"They brought me a young woman. I didn't want to hurt her. I tried as hard as I could to not even breathe in the room with her so I couldn't smell her blood. When Aro saw that I hadn't fed, he became angry and bit her hoping it would entice me. Then left her with me once again, bleeding and in pain. The girl, she…"

Tara paused for a moment as she checked his eyes to see if he looked disgusted with her yet.

He still looked compassionate as always. He waited for her to finish.

"She begged me to kill her, to make the pain stop."

Seth remembered the agonizing pain he felt from the venom as she spoke.

"I gave her the choice to be turned or to die. She chose death…. and so... I took her life." Tara's voice turned to a whisper near the end of her sentence.

"But you didn't take her life.. Aro did. Her life was taken the moment he bit her. Her body was going to die either way."

She frowned. "Seth, I don't deserve your forgiveness or your compassion."

Seth spoke sternly. "There's nothing to forgive. You didn't kill her."

She looked away unbelieving.

"Tara, if I came across a wounded animal in the woods that was beyond repair, I would put it out of its misery. It's the same thing."

"No it's not, this woman had a soul. Animals don't have souls. She was a human life."

"Then you just helped her soul cross over to meet her maker and be in peace so she wouldn't have to exist in a way she didn't want to."

Tara felt overwhelmed by her emotions. She put her forehead to his chest. He caressed her hair and stroked her back.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Do you have any idea how much love I feel for you?" she responded.

"Yeah , I have an idea I think." He smiled.

She kissed his chest and then his neck until her lips were on his mouth again. Then she gently pushed him back on the bed and climbed on top of him.

"I could show you," she grinned.

His eyes lit up as he smiled and then he felt her wrap her body around his and she could tell he was ready for her again.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15 : Two Years Later**

Jacob Black stood in his bathroom, looking in the mirror for a long time. He trembled nervously thinking about what he was about to do.

Today he was going to marry Renesmee. He'd thought about this day for a long time remembering the day he proposed to her a year ago. Jacob wasn't pleased that Edward made them wait an extra year before they could marry but he understood that it was difficult for him to watch his little girl grow up so quickly, losing so much precious time with her. Even though she wasn't really going anywhere, she would no longer be neighbors with them and she'd have a new life and a new husband. Edward wasn't thrilled about the second part. As much as he liked Jacob, he knew he'd have to try very hard to keep out of their heads.

Seth knocked on the door distracting his train of thought. "Hey you ever coming out? Don't make me drag you to the altar!" he shouted.

Jacob opened it.

"You're not even dressed yet! You gonna get married your underwear or what?" Seth said.

"I was shaving. I didn't wanna get it dirty."

"Right, you've been shaving for an hour. A little nervous are we?" Seth teased.

"No," Jacob lied. He fidgeted nervously.

"Liar," Seth grinned at him. He looked over at Jacob's clothes that hung on the back of the door.

They chose to have a traditional Native American wedding. They planned an outdoor ceremony and requested for one of the spiritual elders of the tribes to wed them. The idea of it thrilled Renesmee when Jacob proposed it to her. Alice needed a little convincing however.

"Wow, where did you get this?" Seth said as he was checking out the hip-length native shirt. He'd never seen one like that before.

"Billy found it. eBay." Jacob grabbed it off the hanger.

So I guess you don't have to worry about the 'thought-police' anymore now eh?" Seth chuckled.

Edward told Jacob he was forbidden to even as so much as think about his daughter in ways he shouldn't, not at least until they were married. Edward promised to bring great physical arm to Jacob if he misbehaved even the slightest.

"Nope…the ball is in my court now. And in fact, during the entire ceremony, I plan to make Edward totally squirm in his seat." Jacob grinned devilishly.

"Oh now that's just playing dirty…but I like it!" he laughed.

"Yeah well, serves him right for making me wait another whole year! Oh hey, what about you? Did you get it? Come on…let's see the goods."

Seth nodded. Then he pulled a small box out of his pocket and opened it exposing a diamond ring.

"Very nice," Jacob said looking.

"Do you think she'll like it?" Seth hoped.

"What girl doesn't like diamonds?" Jacob shrugged.

Seth snapped the box shut and sighed. "One's that aren't too keen on the idea of marriage."

Tara never expressed any desire to marry. She only saw marriage as a human custom, but it was one that was very important to Seth and he hoped she would understand it was an experience he wanted to share with her.

"I think once she hears you pop the question, she will change her mind."

"I hope you're right," Seth stuffed it back in his pocket.

Alice was very excited that Renesmee allowed her to plan the wedding, even though she had strict guidelines to follow. She did a lot of her own research and also received some guidance from Sue. Esme and Rosalie were pleased to help with the preparations as well.

Renesmee sat in stood in the bathroom while Alice finished her last minute primping. She wore a traditional tribal wedding dress. She chose a white one, beautifully decorated with Indian beading. Her long brown curls hung down her back with just the sides pulled up off her face and a few wavy strands in the front. Alice helped her pin a ring of flowers in her hair that Sue made for her as a veil.

Bella and Alice were the only ones that stayed behind to help her get ready. Alice assigned the rest of the girls with other wedding details. When Alice finished Renesmee's hair, she styled Bella's hair and laid out a sleek blue dress for her that she slipped into.

Edward arrived to escort his wife to the ceremony. He wore a black suit with blue trim that matched Bella's dress. When he politely knocked on the door, Alice unlocked it and peeked out to confirm he was alone. She opened it to let him enter. Edward then smiled at his daughter.

"You look absolutely beautiful," he said.

"Thanks dad. You look pretty sharp yourself. Are you ready to give me away?"

"Never," he shook his head. "But I will today." Then he kissed her on the forehead trying not to mess up her makeup.

Alice eyed him making sure they didn't wrinkle anything. "Alrighty, lets head out. Don't wanna be late!" Alice chimed.

She had everyone on a tight schedule.

"I'll take Ness, and we'll meet you guys there. Okay?"

"Got it Alice," Edward said, wanting to get her out of the room so he could get a better look at his wife's low cut dress.

When they finally disappeared, leaving them alone, he shut the door and turned to Bella, scowling.

"What's wrong?" Bella worried when she saw his mood change.

"Hmm, I'm not so sure I like this dress on you."

"Y-you don't?" She frowned, looking in the mirror disappointed.

"No, I really think maybe you should _take it off_," he said as he reached a finger under one of the straps on her shoulder and pulled it down her arm.

Bella suddenly grinned picking up on the hint. "Edward! We have a wedding to go to!"

"We have approximately one point seven hours before we actually have to be there. And considering I can get us there in less than fifteen minutes that gives us nearly an hour and a half…"

Before he could even finish, Bella grabbed him by the suit jacket and pulled him against her and kissed him. He quickly lifted her to the counter knocking several bottles off onto the floor, and also breaking the mirror behind her. As Edward kissed Bella's neck he slid his hands up her thighs all the way to her dress and then just a little further. He searched for an undergarment to pull down but there wasn't one. He was surprised at her and yet pleased at the same time.

"Why Bella Cullen, you little _minx_! You have absolutely _nothing on_ under this dress!"

"Hmm, I guess maybe we won't need to remove it then." She grinned trying to act coy.

Edward was amused. "Oh, I'm not so sure, I think Alice would be pretty upset if I accidentally tore it. Maybe we should remove it, just to be on the safe side." He began to unzip the back, smiling at her.

"Okay, just to be safe," she agreed and he slipped it off her, gently laying it on the chair behind them along with his jacket, then he quickly returned to his former position.

"Hmm, now where were we?" he asked as he gripped her and pulled her body into his.

She wrapped her legs around his waist. "I think we're kind of trashing Alice's beauty supplies. We better be more careful."

"Yes, I think you are so right." Edward wrapped his arms around her and picked her up. Her legs were still wrapped around him. He carried her over to the wall and pressed her back up against it. The vibration made a picture frame fall off the wall but they didn't even notice as they were so wrapped up in the passion of the moment. Edward counted down the time. He had approximately one point six hours left and he was about to make every second of it count.

It was June: the Summer Solstice.

Alice helped them pick the perfect date that would give them the driest day of the year. As predicted, it had been a clear day and they were going to start the ceremony once the sun began to set.

The décor was all very traditional. It consisted of decorative baskets filled with corn as a symbol of fertility and others filled with various plant foods for blessings. There were animals hides displayed near the altar, and a water bowl used for a symbol of purification and cleansing. Alice made sure to include flowers everywhere.

As the guests arrived, Seth, Quil and Embry seated them. All of the Cullens sat on the bride's side and the pack on the other. A few close friends and family, including Renee showed up.

Everyone in the wedding party arrived on time except Bella and Edward. Renesmee tried to calm Alice who started to panic, until they saw Edward's Audi finally.

"Where the _heck_ have you guys been?" Alice demanded to know when they finally strolled in. "We left you over an hour ago."

"Sorry Alice, I had car trouble." Edward lied.

"You…" She paused, and her eyes narrowed into slits. "What _kind_ of car trouble?" Alice asked suspiciously, putting her hands on her hips.

She had difficulty seeing most spontaneous events and Edward hoped his moment with Bella was one of those events. He made sure to pick her brain before fabricating his cover-up story, to see if she knew or not. Fortunately for him, Rosalie came over and distracted Alice's attention before she could question him further.

"Where do you want me to put these?" Rosalie asked, holding two large baskets in her hand.

Alice grabbed one from her and then told her to give the other one to Billy Black who was sitting next to the altar, wearing a black and gray tux. Jacob stood next to him.

While Rosalie kept Alice's attention occupied, Edward noticed Bella's zipper in the back of her dress needed to be zipped. He stealthy pulled it up with one hand before Alice even noticed. When Bella giggled, Alice looked back at the two of them, even more suspicious now. She stared at Bella as she handed the other basket to her and noticed something else.

"Bella! What happened to your makeup? I can't even tell you are wearing lipstick!"

"Ah…well.." Bella stuttered trying to think of an excuse.

Just then, Esme showed up with Renesmee. "She's all yours Edward…at least for the next half hour." Esme winked at him. Then she kissed Renesmee and took her seat.

Edward knew this was his out. "_Another save_," he thought

"I think you better take your place Bella," he quickly said as he rushed her out of Alice's sights, gladly escaping his sister's interrogation.

Once everyone took their place, the spiritual leader performing the ceremony, started by welcoming everyone and explaining the symbolism of each of the traditions they chose.

Jacob stood next to the ceremonial water bowl. Two white flowers floated in the water as a sign of purity for them. Bella and Billy were also at the altar holding baskets.

As someone began to play a melody on an Indian love flute, Edward walked Renesmee down the aisle. He kissed her cheek and then stood her next to the groom. Once Jacob laid his eyes on his beautiful bride, he didn't need to try very hard to get under Edward's skin. He couldn't take his eyes off her.

The spiritual leader spoke again. "What do you provide for this union of marriage?" he said, looking at Renesmee.

Bella handed her the basket she held and she then gave it to Jacob reciting her vows.

"I provide these things to you, they are a symbol that I will care and love you always."

The leader asked the same of Jacob, and Billy handed him his basket.

"I provide these things to you. They are a symbol that I will provide, love and protect our family always." Jacob said as he looked in her eyes.

They then were instructed to place the baskets aside and dip their hands into the ceremonial bowl of water. While everyone looked upon them as they washed their hands, Seth looked over at Tara and smiled taking her hand. She returned a smile to him.

The spiritual leader spoke to them again. "Now you will feel no rain, for you will be shelter to each other.

You will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. There is no more loneliness, for each of you will be companion to the other. You are two bodies, but there is only one life before you. May your days be good and long upon the Earth."

Jacob and Renesmee exchanged rings and personal vows that they wrote for one another. Then the Holy man took a large white blanket and wrapped it around them both, symbolizing their unity, and he spoke again.

"Oh, Creator and nurturer of all life, we give heartfelt thanks for the moment that brought Jacob Black, and Renesmee Cullen together in the Holy state of Marriage. Now as you both have consented and have pledged your faith to each other before your community, according to the powers vested in me by the state of Washington, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may seal your union with a kiss."

As Jacob put his arms around his new wife and pulled her in for a kiss, all of the pack stood up to howl and cheer. Even Emmett stood up and cheered them on and then all the others joined in making noise. Edward was the only one groaning rubbing his head.

Bella leaned over to him. "I hear Alaska is beautiful this time of year."

After the ceremony, everyone followed the happy couple to the Cullen home for the reception.

All of the furniture had been moved out of the living room that over-looked the back yard, making a small dance floor. Several tables were placed around the room for the guests. Most of Jacob's closest friends and family came to the reception party. Alice decorated the house of course. She wasn't quite as restricted on this task since it was in her territory. Renesmee picked the colors of red and white and she filled the house with bouquets of red and white roses everywhere. Candles and flowers were on every table in the room and almost everywhere in the house. All of the table cloths matched the flowers and she trimmed everything with red and white ribbon.

They hired private caterers to prepare and serve the food. Once the guests that ate finished, Jacob and Renesmee cut their wedding cake (also trimmed in red and white) and fed it to each other. They both of course grabbed handfuls to smash in each other's faces like little kids. Alice nearly had a fit but everyone else laughed as they did and then kissed with their faces full of cake.

Afterwards, Jacob took Renesmee up stairs so they could wash off. Renesmee got too much cake on her tribal dress so she changed into an ivory one that Alice laid out for her to wear when they were to leave for their honeymoon. When she came out of her room, she had Jacob zip up the back. She held up her long hair as he slowly pulled the long zipper up her back. Then she turned to face him and smiled.

He already removed his tribal jacket, wearing only a white button up shirt with his dress pants.

Jacob wrapped his arms around his new bride, staring at her beauty. "I can't wait to take this off of you later." He whispered in her ear.

Renesmee blushed. "You're lucky my dad's not around to hear to say that Jacob Black." She teased.

"Oh no, I can think and say _whatever_ I want about my new wife now. Edward will just have to tune me out from now on if he doesn't like it."

She laughed thinking about her poor dad. "He seemed pretty distressed during the ceremony. I've never seen him so fidgety before"

Jacob tried to hold back a laugh but was failing horribly.

"Jake…what did you do? What were you thinking about during the wedding?"

"Oh I dunno just….you and … the _honeymoon_."

She gasped and swatted him.

"Hey! Stop that, I'm allowed now!"

"Don't torment my dad like that, it's not nice. Besides I don't want him to be thinking about me that way."

"Ness, you're spoiling all my fun," Jacob complained. "At least let me mess with him just for tonight, and then I promise I'll keep everything private….deal?"

Ness rolled her eyes. I don't even want to know," she said.

He laughed and then gave her a kiss that lasted a very long time. When he parted he looked her in the eyes and took her hand.

"So would you care to dance with your husband Mrs. Black?"

"Yes, very much," she agreed, and then they headed back downstairs.

The guests all mingled and danced. Edward and Bella twirled gracefully out on the dance floor. Jacob and Renesmee took their first dance together and then when the song changed, Renesmee danced with her father.

Rosalie and Emmett, Alice and Jasper, and Esme and Carlisle all danced. Sue even managed to get Charlie out on the dance floor for spin. He was a clumsy as ever but they laughed every time he stumbled or stomped on her foot. Seth chuckled as he watched them having fun together. He and Tara sat at their table watching everyone. Seth had become very quiet as he'd been trying to think of a plan. He'd been unsuccessful so far.

"Are you okay tonight?" Tara asked him as she rested her hand in his leg.

"Fine. Why?"

"Because you seem really tense, plus you hardly touched you food. Are you sure you're alright?"

He put his hand over her. "I'm sure," As he stared into her eyes, he tried desperately to ask her but tensed up and the words wouldn't come. Finally he decided he would just excuse himself. "I'll, um…be right back okay?"

She nodded and watched him as he ran off. She expected him to head to the bathroom perhaps, but he ran into the kitchen instead. He leaned against the wall fearful he might pass out.

When the dance tunes changed to something more upbeat, several of the couples dispersed. Jacob and Renesmee stayed on the floor and did a funny little routine that looked like they rehearsed. The pack laughed and cheered them on. Tara moved over to sit with Bella and Esme and watched. She enjoyed herself though she couldn't quite figure out why Seth kept acting so odd.

After a few minutes, Seth peaked around the corner and saw that Tara moved from their table to sit with Bella and Esme. He watched her as he tried to calm himself.

Edward casually strolled over to Seth and leaned over to him. "Relax, your heart is racing too loudly, she'll pick up on that." He advised.

Seth realized Edward knew what he was planning to do and he grabbed Edward by the front of his jacket and pulled him around the corner. Edward gave him an objectionable stare and then looked down at his hand that was still gripping his lapel.

Seth noticed the unpleasant look he had on his face and let go. "Oh,...sorry," he said nervously trying to smooth out the wrinkle his hand made. "Tell me what do what do Edward please, I'm so nervous right now."

Edward chuckled at him with a sigh. "Well first of all you should probably try breathing. You need to calm yourself down."

"Yeah, I've been trying," he said as he took some deep breaths.

A caterer passed by them carrying a tray with several glasses of champagne on it. Seth quickly snatched one off the tray as the man kept walking, not even noticing. He began to chug it down quickly.

Edward grabbed the glass just before he got to finish it. "Hey slow down! You're not even twenty-one yet."

"Yeah well I have a good excuse right now."

Edward looked at him, debating the facts. "Okay, you're right... here." He handed him the glass back and he finished it.

Seth's hands trembled.

Edward put his hand on his shoulder. "Deep breaths, relax."

"Right." Seth inhaled deeply.

"Okay, now go ask her for a dance." Edward told him.

"A dance? Um…" Seth stared at Tara.

Edward could clearly see he didn't know how to dance. "Yes, a dance, she's been wanting you to ask her. Don't worry she knows how, she can just lead you. Just try not to step on her feet with those _boats_ of yours."

Seth looked down at his size-thirteen shoes. "Well _then_ what do I do?"

Edward sighed. "Seth, do I have to do all the work for you?"

"Ah yes actually, since you're experienced at this ...How about you go ask her to _marry m_e," he joked, holding out the ring to him.

Just then another waiter passed by looking at Seth as he held the engagement ring out to Edward. He heard only the last two words Seth said to him and snickered. Edward rolled his eyes and grabbed Seth's hand covering the ring.

When Edward shook his head, Seth noticed something on his ear. "Uh, is that lipstick on your um..." without finishing, he just pointed at Edward's ear, giving him a funny look.

Edward's expression changed to surprise. Feeling a little embarrassed, he just decided to ignore the comment. "I'll take care of the music for you. You just go and dance," he said sternly before he walked off, rubbing his ear with a handkerchief.

Seth put the ring back in his pocket and then he headed in Tara's direction, still trying to get his heart rate down. "_Relax Seth, relax_," he reminded himself.

He smiled nervously as Tara turned her head to look at him. "Hey," he said to her.

Then he turned to Esme. "Hi Esme, beautiful job you did. The house looks great," he complimented.

"Well thank you Seth, but I have to give most of the credit to Alice of course. She's been working for days, non-stop to do all this."

"I'll bet. Well you'd think a pro came in here. Maybe she needs to start up her own business in party planning or something."

"You know, that's not a bad idea," Esme smiled.

Just then, Carlisle walked up to Esme when he heard the change in tune and swooped her away for a dance. Edward came over and did the same with Bella.

Tara turned to Seth. "So, are you feeling ok? You disappeared for awhile there."

"Oh yeah…I'm ah…I'm fine. Yup," he rambled nervously. His heart rate sped up again.

"You don't sound fine. What are you up? Are you and Jake plotting some joke I need to be in on or something?" She fished.

Seth chuckled nervously, glad she had no suspicions at least. "No, we're not plotting anything. Actually I was just kind wondering if you know how to ..um…how to dance."

She looked at him with a strange stare. "Yes, I can dance."

"Well good cuz I was kinda hoping you'd show me how."

Her eyebrow rose. "You want me to show you how to dance?"

"Yes, please? If you wouldn't mind?" He held out his hand.

"Of course not, why didn't you just tell me you didn't know how instead of acting weird all night?"

"Ah.." he paused. "_Play it off, this is good. Just play it off,_" he thought. "Sorry, I was kind of embarrassed," he fibbed.

"It's okay, come on." She grabbed his hand and pulled him to the dance floor. She took his right hand in hers and then put his left one at the small of her back. Then she placed hers on his left shoulder. "Well, so it kinda goes like this…" she started, as she tried to remember the moves.

"Um, actually would you mind if we went outside instead?" he interrupted.

"Outside?" she stopped moving.

"Yeah it's a little less crowded out there." He started to pull her by the hand.

"Oh…sure." She followed.

They walked out to the courtyard. There was a giant fountain with an angel that poured water down into it from a vase. The pool in the back yard was lit up with a multi colored light and filled with fresh white lilies that all floated on the top. There were bouquets of flowers everywhere and dozens of more candles. The setting was perfect he thought.

"This is better," he said. He took her arms and placed them on his shoulders and then wrapped his arms comfortably around her waist and began to sway back and forth.

"Um…do you want me to show you some steps?" He just kept moving along with him as she spoke.

He shook his head. "Nope not yet, I kinda like this right here."

She smiled. "Okay." She didn't mind. She liked being alone for a while.

They could still hear the music playing, just not as blaringly loud.

He put his lips to her hair. "Have I told you how gorgeous that dress is on you?"

"Mmm, no actually you haven't said much of anything to me tonight, I was getting worried."

"I'm sorry. I guess I was just a little distracted. You _do _however, look very beautiful. Red really suits you."

"Thanks," she said, delighted.

They moved along with the music quietly for a few moments. Then Seth decided to ease into the subject.

"So… what did you think of the ceremony?"

"Oh, it was lovely. I've never seen a traditional wedding like that. I enjoyed the experience."

"Really?"

"Yes, the vows were beautiful. It's a very sweet _human_ custom."

He didn't like that she put it in those terms. "Well, I told you, human customs are kinda nice."

"Yes, but I think they only did it to appeased Edward. He so very old-fashioned." She rolled her eyes.

He stopped moving and became more serious."Uh, no, Jacob _wanted_ to marry her, he's been wanting this for a long time. It's a very important custom in our heritage."

"Oh." She replied, absorbing his comment. She thought for a moment and then got the hint. "Well it just seems so unnecessary. I just don't see the point. I know how I feel about you and that's all I need really."

Seth frowned. "You're not the only one in this relationship with needs you know."

Tara stopped moving. His words cut through her. Seth tried to keep dancing but it was like pushing against a solid wall.

She looked at his eyes and saw the hurt behind them."I didn't know it was that important to you."

Seth nodded. "Well, not so much the ceremony and stuff, just the union. It holds great meaning for our people. I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to be mean about it…I just want you to understand how I feel."

"I do. Forgive me for being so selfish. I just didn't give it much thought before. It's just that… I don't see how a piece of paper will change anything between us. Marriage is a custom that humans need for legal status and such and well…I have no legal status. I don't even _exist_ in this world." She lowered her eyes.

He took her face in his hands. "You exist in _my_ world, and that's all that matters to me." Then he leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips.

She smiled at him when they parted. "Thank you," she said.

"What for?"

"Everything - you give me everything Seth. You shined your light on my dark world and gave me a give me a reason to live. If this is something you really want, I'd be more than happy to give that to you."

"But…would it mean anything to _you_?" He worried.

"Of course it would. Anything I experience with you means everything to me." She stared into his eyes. "In a hundred years from now, I'll remember this dance with you like it was yesterday. I cherish every moment."

He hugged her. "Thank you. So will I...if I get to live that long."

She squeezed him tighter thinking about the 'if' part of his comment. She never wanted to let him go.

After a few minutes of a silent embrace he began dancing with her again. They continued their gentle sway back and forth.

Seth expressed another thought. "Besides...I think Tara Clearwater has a really nice ring to it, and there's always ways of getting around the legality of things."

Her face changed. She liked the sound of her name joined with his.

"Hmm, I rather like the sound of that." She agreed. "I've never thought of it that way before."

"Told you." He smiled pressing his lips to her hair.

"So… I guess that just means one of these days you'll just have to…ask…..…me…"

Tara's words slowed down as she eyed Seth dropping down on one knee before she had even finished her sentence. She froze like a statue as he pulled the box from his pocket and opened it exposing the ring. Her eyes widened as they fixated on it.

"Tara Spaulding… will you be my wife?" he asked her. He looked straight in her eyes waiting for a response.

They became so wrapped up in conversation, they didn't even notice that the music stopped and that the entire wedding party stared out the window looking and listening with eager smiles on their faces. Edward tipped everyone off and they all began to gather around the bay windows to witness the event.

"Tara?" Seth said to her waiting.

"How…how did you even know my last name? I never told you."

He grinned. "I have an informant."

Tara then turned her head to look for Edward and noticed the whole entire wedding party was starring right at them. She gasped. Then she turned back to Seth and felt her knees giving out.

"Whoa, hey, you okay?" he said as he caught her just as she dropped to her knees right in front of him.

Everyone inside tried to listen in. The vampires tuned in their keen senses as the listened but they hadn't heard Tara say 'yes' yet.

"What's she saying Edward?" Esme asked knowing Edward could hear her thoughts.

They all looked at him curiously, wanting to know.

"She's actually speechless! Even in her mind. I think he stunned her." He laughed.

Tara put her arms around Seth's neck and held onto him. "You actually made me weak in the knees."

"Did I?" he smiled pleased with himself.

She nodded.

His eyebrows went up as he patiently waited. "Um, you haven't answered my question yet."

The corners of her mouth turned up and she nodded. "Yes, I'll be your wife." She answered.

Seth smiled and then slipped the ring on her finger. She stared at it in awe. Then he reached for her face and pulled her in for a kiss.

The entire party started cheering. The pack howled.

Seth wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her up. He embraced her and whispered in her hair.

"I love you Tara. I'll cherish you every day of my life."

Then they kissed again even more passionately. He was on top of the world.


	16. Chapter 16

**PART TWO  
**

**Honeymoon**

Jacob and Renesmee landed at the Kodiak Airport in Alaska. After a three and a half hour flight, they were eager to exit the aircraft and head to their destination.

Though Carlisle offered to let them stay at Esme Isle, Jacob decided it would be much too awkward staying in the same place Renesmee had been conceived. His new wife agreed knowing they would both probably feel very uncomfortable even sleeping in the same bed that Edward and Bella shared.

Carlisle and Esme understood completely and offered them a cozy cabin they owned in Alaska; another piece of property in their plethora of real estate stockpile. They both happily agreed on the idea of an Alaskan trip, figuring it would be perfectly secluded as well as provide an abundance of hunting area. Carlisle gave them very strict guidelines however on where it was safe to take Renesmee hunting. They wanted to avoid another incident like the previous one that nearly took Jacob's life.

The temperature was a comfortable 64 degrees for a June afternoon though the surrounding mountainous peaks in the distance were dusted with a layer of white powder.

Carlisle had arranged for a driver to take them to their cabin. As they entered the terminal, Renesmee looked around and then finally spotted a large man in a dark suit, holding a sign up that read; "_Mr. and Mrs. Black_"

She nudged her husband to get his attention. "Jake," she said pointing in the man's direction.

Jacob glanced at the sign and then shrugged. "Well, that must be our ride."

They walked up the large Native. Renesmee thought he looked much like an Eskimo.

"Um, Hi, we're Mr. and Mrs. Black," Jacob said to him as they approached.

The large man stood at equal height to Jacob though his body frame was much rounder.

"I'm Akiak, your driver. It's a pleasure to meet you," he nodded.

"Hi Akiak!" Renesmee said cheerfully and then introduced Jacob and herself. She'd been reading about the Alutiiq culture before arriving and was excited to meet a true Native to the Island.

Akiak smiled back, unable to resist her beauty and charm. He liked that she was the extremely friendly type especially since he was used to tourist with poor manners and less than pleasant personalities. It was the beginning of a very chatty conversation between the two, starting from the very moment they got in the car to head for their cabin.

Renesmee started off by asking the man a dozen questions about his family and his life on the island. He was very impressed with the amount of knowledge she had about their culture. It was rare he'd ever get a customer that knew so much or even cared about their tiny little town and civilization. Jacob just sat quietly listening in on the two as they became friends quickly. It was the first person Renesmee really got to know outside of her home life and she was extremely excited about it. Her bond with him was almost instant and she felt like she'd already known Akiak for a long time. In fact he became so wrapped up in the conversation he almost didn't see the giant moose that decided to casually stroll across the intersection in front of them. Akiak quickly applied his foot to the brakes making the car come to a screeching halt. Jacob and Renesmee were tossed forward a little bit before their seat belts locked in. Jacob instantly put his arm in front of his wife to protect her even though she was safely buckled in.

"Everyone alright back there?" he said turning his head to check on his passengers. "Really sorry about that…they do this all the time. I should really be used to it by now."

"We're fine," Jacob replied.

Renesmee gasped when she saw the moose. It was the first one she's ever seen live. "Wow, Jake look at _that_ guy!" she squealed excitedly from the back seat starting at the large beast. "Hmm, wonder what _those_ taste like?"

"I dunno, maybe we'll find out," Jacob responded without thought.

"Oh, you guys like to hunt?" Akiak asked.

"_Oops"_ The couple thought simultaneously, forgetting there was a third set of ears in the car.

"Um, yeah I like to hunt and she likes to eat," Jacob said quickly to cover their story.

"Well you're in luck, the moose are in season right now. Probably why this guy is hanging out in town. It's safer." He chuckled. "No hunting within in city limits of course."

The moose finally reached the other side of the street. Akiak continued driving again being more cautious of the road now. "You don't look like you brought any gear with you though." He noticed.

"Uh, no. We're actually on our honeymoon; I didn't think to bring that sort of thing. I wasn't sure how often we'd leave the cabin ya know." Jacob winked when the guy looked in the rear view mirror.

Renesmee gasped nudging him. "Jake!"

Akiak chuckled. "Well if you _do_ decide to, there happens to be a small shop in town that rents equipment, so long as you have a hunting license. What kind of game you like?"

"Grizzly!" Renesmee said before Jacob even opened his mouth.

Akiak looked a little surprised by her answer. "Uh, oh… well those aren't in season my dear. In fact you'd get a huge fine for hunting game that aren't in season right now. Sorry… but don't worry, there's plenty of moose here. Besides, hunting helps control the over population."

"Oh I'm all about that," she grinned.

Akiak looked up at her in the mirror. "Did you know that the bears on the island actually migrated from the mainland around twelve-thousand years ago… after the last ice age?" he asked her.

Renesmee was like an encyclopedia, full of information most people never cared about. "Yes. And I also red that the natives on the island descended from Asiatic peoples and they _also_ migrated here around twelve-thousand years ago."

"Yes that's correct." He smiled.

"Your people have quite an amazing history. They really give meaning to the phrase, _survival of the fittest,_" she said.

"I'll say…after enduring earthquakes, volcanoes, tidal waves and wars, we're still here!"

"Wow Ness, I didn't know you had the time to do so much research with all our wedding plans," Jacob remarked.

"I read every night before bed. It helps me sleep better," she replied.

Despite the near slip up about hunting, Akiak certainly had no reason to suspect what Renesmee really was. She seemed like a happy and normal yet very bright young woman. He took a liking to her, wishing there were more people like her around.

Jacob still had his mind on hunting, knowing Renesmee would want more than just human food during their stay. "Hey…uh, so hunters won't shoot at wildlife that's outta season then right?" he asked concerned. That last thing he wanted was to have another hunting accident, especially being so far from home.

"Well I can't say there haven't been accidents but the rangers keep a close eye out for poachers. The best place for you to hunt would be on Painted Mountain. Not a lot of hunters go there because it's pretty difficult to get to and the benefit is you'd have a lot more game to hunt. The moose know it's a safer place, so they tend to stay on higher ground," he explained.

"That's smart. So, what makes you think it's would be a good place for us?" Jacob wondered.

The man shrugged. "Oh you just strike me as the kind of guy that could handle the terrain. You're in great shape. Bet you work out, huh?"

Jacob chuckled. He gets that assumption from a lot from strangers, especially ones that come into his shop. "Uh, yeah, yeah, in my spare time," he replied although in his mind he was thinking about his workout routine which actually consisted of running around the forest as a giant wolf, chasing vampires.

When they finally pulled up to the cabin, Jacob opened the door for Renesmee and like a gentleman he took her hand and helped her out of the car. Akiak stepped out and unloaded their bags from the trunk and then Jacob pulled out his wallet and flipped through several bills until he found a ten and handed it to him.

"_Quyanaa_," Akiak said in his native tongue.

Jacob gave him an odd look.

"Thank you." He translated.

"Oh. No problem. Thanks for the ride." Jacob replied offering a hand to shake.

"Thank you Akiak! It was so nice meeting you," Renesmee said grinned ear to ear at the large man.

"My pleasure, Miss Renesmee. And it was wonderful meeting you too." He smiled. Akiak really liked her and he genuinely didn't like people so quickly.

"Will we be seeing you on our way home too or will they send a different driver?" she asked.

"Oh, I'm not too sure but I'll see if I can work it out so I get to drive you. How long is your stay going to be?"

"Two weeks." Jacob answered grabbing the bags with ease.

"Okay, I'll be checking for your names on the roster then."

Renesmee gave him one of her big hugs and it made him smile. He'd never encounter such a charming young girl as Renesmee before. She was a breath of fresh air. She waved to the driver as left. Then they grabbed their belongings and headed into the cabin.

Jacob pulled out the key Carlisle gave him and opened the door. Before Renesmee could take another step, he dropped his bags, swept her off her feet and pushed the door open with his foot so he could carry her through the threshold. He stopped in the entryway as they gave the room a once over from where they stood. It wasn't quite as small as they expected.

They entered into the living room first which was fully furnished with a matching set of leather couches. Various antique tables were arranged around the room, all with decorative native art pieces on them. There was a large cobblestone fire place with a fresh stack of wood next to it.

Jacob set Renesmee down and they both wandered around the place taking it in. He of course, headed straight for the kitchen and checked the fridge first. "Wow, they actually stocked the place!"

The over-sized appliance that Carlisle just had installed for their visit was filled with a variety of food, enough to last two weeks. Even the freezer was stocked with meat, frozen vegetables and deserts. Jacob grabbed a bucket of chocolate ice cream right off the first shelf.

"Nice!" he said while searching for a spoon. His stomach grumbled just from looking at all food. The stuff they served on the airplane was horrible and he'd finished all the snacks Esme packed for them almost half way into the trip.

Meanwhile, Renesmee gave herself a tour of the master bedroom downstairs. Her eyes zoomed in on the giant canopy framed bed in the center of the room covered with a dozen fluffy white pillows. The walls were painted a soft gray with red accents. White candles were arranged everywhere throughout the room. There was an adjoining bathroom just inside another door in the room, also decorated in a matching red and white theme. She checked out the huge Roman tub, climbing into it and imagining herself taking a bath in it later. It was big enough to fit her and Jacob in there, she'd though.

Once she was satisfied, she decided to see what Jacob was up to, noticing a lot of clanking coming from the kitchen.

"Shouldn't you have dinner first?" she said to him as she watched him put a heaping scoop of ice cream in his mouth.

It only took seconds to turn to liquid and he swallowed.

"No worries, I could eat this _and_ entire contents on the top shelf in there right now."

"Maybe we should cook something for you then," she suggested.

"Umm, maybe _I_ should do the cooking," he suggested. "I'll make us both something."

Jacob knew that Renesmee in a kitchen easily spelled disaster.

"Ok sure, just as long as I still get my moose later."

He chuckled. "Ok, ok, I will make sure you get your moose." He leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips.

His lips were colder than normal and tasted like chocolate but she didn't mind at the moment. She inched closer to him and slid her arms around his waist. His body began to press against hers until she was backed into the center island and all the while still holding the bucket of ice cream in one hand and the spoon in the other. He managed to set the ice cream on the counter but the spoon missed and fell to the floor with a loud clang. Neither of them seemed to notice since they were tightly locked in an embrace for a long kiss that made Renesmee's heart rate speed up. Jacob's fingers gripped her body and lifted her off the ground, seating her on the counter. She wrapped her legs around him and crossed her feet pulling his body even closer to hers. Jacob felt every emotion she was feeling with each touch as her visions ran through him. He knew exactly what she wanted but he was quite ready for it just yet.

He pulled back and looked her in the eyes. She smiled and let out a heavy exhale. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. Absolutely nothing."

"Then why'd you stop? Aren't you enjoying this?" She looked at him seductively while running her hands along the frame of his chest and then ran her fingertips through the back of his hair.

It was hard for his to resist when she did that to him. He nodded silently looking into her eyes and breathing heavily. He could no longer think straight but before he could lean in to kiss her again his stomach let out a huge growl. Renesmee giggled realizing what his needs were now.

"It was a long flight. What do you say you go shower while I make us some food?" he suggested.

"That sounds good." She agreed, but she had her mind on the big tub instead. He gently slid her down off the counter till her feet touched the floor and she grabbed her travel bag and then headed for the bathroom.

She immediately turned on the hot water and began to fill the tub. The bath solution she poured in the stream started bubbling up while steam rose up and fogged the chrome.

In the kitchen, Jacob pulled out two steaks and seasoned them just before throwing them on the grill on the kitchen range. They sizzled over the fire while he searched for plates and utensils and set the table.

Renesmee's timing was perfect. She toweled off once she was done and then searched through her bag to find something to wear. She pulled out a piece of lingerie that Alice snuck into her suitcase. A wedding gift that she made sure Edward didn't see.

She slipped on the white lacy garment and then threw her big fuzzy bathrobe over it. Then she towel dried her hair and ran her fingers through it knowing it would take too long to comb it all out.

When she stepped out into the living room, she noticed the setting was all new. The lights were turned down and the fire place was going. Several candles were lit throughout the room, setting a very romantic mood. The dining table was set eloquently with fancy dishes and a candle center-piece.

Jacob pulled the chair out for her. "Mrs. Black." His hand movement gestured for her to sit.

"Why thank you Mr. Black," she strolled over and sat down in the chair before taking his seat across from her.

Her plate had a large steak on it. He made it the way she liked it – extra rare. She stifled a giggle when she saw side of fries next to it though. The slender flute that accompanied her dish was half full of a bubbly liquid.

"What's this?" she asked.

"Champagne. There was a bottle chilling in the fridge so I assume it's a gift for us. I figure a half a glass won't hurt for a toast."

"Hmm, very classy. It'll be good with the French fries," she teased.

He laughed, "Sorry, I didn't have the patience to make anything else. These were only ten minutes in the oven."

"It's perfect." She took the glass in her hand and lifted it. She was curious since she'd never seen or tasted champagne before. It was something they always drank in many of the classic movies she enjoyed.

Renesmee took a sip of the fizzy drink. It tickled her nose and she made sour face when she swallowed.

"Not so good?" he asked. She shook her head. Though her body was designed to digest both human food as well as blood, she usually preferred her blood diet. She only ate a limited amount of foods that appealed to her, eggs usually being her favorite. She also rarely ever drank fluids since the blood kept her perfectly hydrated. She hated most beverages, especially sweet ones.

"I think I'll just stick to the steak." She unfolded her napkin and placed it on her lap. As she daintily made slices through the meat, the blood seeped out and pooled up in the plate. Though she generally preferred her beef to be _mooing_ when she bit into it, she didn't mind eating extremely rare steaks on occasion. Proteins were always her preferred food group. She left the fries alone knowing Jacob would probably help himself. Not that she minded.

When they finished, they cleaned up in the kitchen and then Jacob threw some more wood on the fire. It was primarily for the mood since neither of the required the heat.

Suddenly the sound of rain started tapping on the cabin roof and Renesmee stood by the window watch the heavy droplets that fell to the ground. "Hmm, just like home," she said.

Jacob snuck up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her in close. His put his warm cheek against hers and just held her for a while looking out at the drab colorless sky.

She nearly lost track of time, falling into a soothing trance as he held her. It wasn't until he pressed his lips to the base of her neck that alerted every sensation in her body. Then he swept her hair back over her other shoulder exposing the smooth skin on her neck, where he brushed his lips along the length it of the moving upward till he reached her ear. Her body tingled when he traced the edges of it with his tongue. She let out a pleasurable sigh and then turned her body to face him. She unraveled the sash on her robe letting it fall to floor and stood before him showing off the slinky little gown with spaghetti straps. The bottom barely covered her thighs.

"Uh…where'd that come from?" his eyes widened.

"It was a gift from Alice. She said she was really glad that she couldn't see what your reaction was going to be." she giggled.

He chuckled, agreeing. "Hmm, well I will be sure to thank the little runt when we get home."

"Does that mean you like it?"

"Oh, Yes." He grinned.

Renesmee smiled. "Cuz, if not…you can always take it off me." She leaned in to kiss him again but he just grinned and then pressed his finger to her eager lips.

"Hold that thought, I'll be back in few minutes." he said just before disappearing into the bedroom.

She wondered what he was up to. Within a few seconds she heard the water running. Jacobs started cleaning himself up from the long trip. Renesmee plopped herself down on the shaggy carpet in front of the fire place and waited. She poked the hot embers with a tool and flipped one of the logs that didn't seem to be getting any heat. The fire started to roar again once the dry wood caught fire. Then she gathered all the throw pillows off the couch and arranged them on the floor making the spot even cushier than before. She sprawled out on the floor waiting. Within a few minutes however, her eye lids began to close and she dozed off.

When Jacob finished he returned wearing only a pair of jogging pants. He found her sleeping by the fire with one arm tucked under her head. He had something in his hand that he set aside on the carpet then, curled up his body against hers and began playing with her hair as he admired her beauty.

"I'm sorry. I took too long," he whispered.

"It's okay, I'm barely sleeping," her eyelids fluttered slightly as she rolled her body towards him.

"You too tired?" he asked while spinning one of her long curls with his finger.

"Certainly not!" her eyes suddenly popped open.

He smiled. "Good, I was hoping you'd say that." Then he stroked her cheek then leaned down to kiss her smooth lips.

Her body felt warmer on the side facing the fire. Jacob curled up next to her slid his hand under her back and pulled her in close and she instantly perked up. Sleep was the furthest thing on her mind now and she kissed him like never before running her through his thick black hair. Their hearts both started beating rapidly. Jacob's nervously slid his hand further down her back over the thin layer of lace and silk that separated his skin from hers. When he found the bottom of her negligee, he gripped her thigh and wrapped it around his body. He caressed the smooth bare skin on her leg, running his fingers back and forth giving her goose bumps as he touched her. Then, before he realized it his hand had gone further up her lingerie than he thought but still only felt nothing but bare skin.

"Um…are you even wearing anything under this?" he asked.

"It's a thong," she grinned devilishly with a nervous giggle.

"_I really must remember to thank that little vampire,_" he thought. Then Jacob's fingers finally found the tiny piece of material that circled around her hips and he ran them along the outline of them from her waistline all the way down to her buttocks where the line disappeared. Renesmee's body quivered feeling his warm hands underneath her. Then his lips parted from hers, moving to her neck and every nerve ending became alive when his tongue brushed her throat. One of his hands drifted up the side of her body and swept her hair back and then he slipped the strap of her gown off her shoulder. His mouth kissed a trail all the way to her collar bone until the material got in the way.

"Want me to help you take this off me?" she asked

Jacob's hand started to tremble now. He nervously looked her in the eyes and nodded.

Renesmee sat up and pulled the garment over her head exposing her naked body. Her long hair fell back down and covered her breast. Jacob anxiously swallowed feeling hesitant.

She could see he looked tense and she touched his face and smiled.

"I'm nervous too, but don't be scared. We're meant to be together," she said trying to comfort him.

He smiled at her. "I know." Then he swept her hair back and leaned in and kissed her shoulder. She leaned down and pressed her body against his, feeling his heart wildly pounding inside his chest. She pressed her lips to his soft bare chest and kissed him as her hand traveled down to his waist and made an attempt to undress him too.

"N -Ness," Jacob whispered.

"Mmm?" her lips moved up along his color bone now.

"I think we should um, you know…_use_ something."

Renesmee wasn't quite sure where to go with that. She paused for a moment while kissing his chest. "Use, what?" she whispered.

"You know…protection."

She suddenly stopped what she was doing and looked at him. "Um _wow_ Jake, great mood breaker," she said in a flat tone.

"I'm sorry. I'm just worried you know…. I think it's a good idea."

"Well, I _don't_. I'm not worried about much of anything right now." She shoved him onto his back and straddled him, kissing his neck and chest totally ignoring the thought.

Jacob didn't want to resist but had to. "Ness I'm serious, I think we should."

Renesmee stopped again and sighed impatiently. "Jake, I _hardly_ want to interrupt the most amazing moment of my life so you can take a _time-out_ to put on a condom! Ick! I can't even believe you just made me _say_ that!"

"But we should be careful. I mean we don't know what could happen," he argued.

"We can just find out then…Jake, you're really ruining the moment here," she complained while trying to finish what she started.

He grabbed her hand to stop her from advancing any further.

"Jake! What's your _problem_? This is our honeymoon. I want to enjoy the experience without any of this, okay?" she grabbed the pack of condoms he'd hid behind him under the table and held them up. "I just want to enjoy us, _without_ these!"

"I understand Ness, it's just that we don't know what could happen. Edward and I think this is for the best."

She suddenly froze and tensed up. "What?"

He gritted his teeth._ "Oh crap_!" he thought.

"You talked this over with my _dad?"_Renesmee fumed. "Oh gross Jacob!" She shoved him away and jumped up.  
"Wait! Where are you going?"

"Now I'm _really_ not in the mood!" she snapped up and stormed into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

Jacob just threw his hands over his face and laid on his back letting out a big growl feeling. He leaped up and headed for the door to talk to her but when he turned the knob it was already locked. "Ness, come on. Open up!" he tapped his knuckle on the door.

No answer. He only heard sobs coming from behind the door. He suddenly felt horrible now. "Ness please, open the door," he begged.

"Just leave me alone Jake!" She grabbed a small blanket off the end of the bed and wrapped herself in it.

Jacob kept pounding on the door. Annoyed by the noise, she opened the slider door in the rear of the bed room that stepped out onto a small deck. She stood out in the rain that had slowed to a drizzle now and let the cold drops fall down on her face. They blended with the tears that rolled down her cheeks.

Jacob growled with frustration. He started to take a step back to ram the door but re-thought the idea, figuring it might not be wise to wreck the place. Instead he stomped back out into the living room and then plopped down on one of the couches. He put his hands in his face and let out another groan. After giving the situation several long minutes of thought and calming himself down, she still hadn't come out of the room.

Just then he got an idea. Still completely barefoot and with no shirt on, he went out the front door and walked around the back of the cabin. There was a long drop at the cliff when he got halfway around. He climbed one of the trees next to the house far enough up so that he could reach the roof then he found his way towards the back where he saw Renesmee standing on the deck. He got as close as he could to the edge and then jumped down. It startled her when his feet hit the floor, making her jump. When she turned to look at him, he could tell she was crying. His anger completely diminished and turned to guilt. She'd turned her back to him so he wouldn't see but it was already too late.

He stepped over to her and touched her shoulder. "Ness," he spoke softly. "Please don't cry. I don't want this."

"Neither do I," she whispered.

"This was supposed to be a special night and I totally ruined it. I'm so sorry," he apologized.

She slowly turned back around but her eyes still looked down at the floor. He stepped closer to touch her face and wiped her tears. "Can we start over?" he hoped.

She lifted her eyes and nodded.

"Let's go back inside, you're getting soaked." He said putting his arm around her shoulder and then walked towards the door.

"Wait," he said just before scooping her up in his arms and carrying her though.

She gasped. "What are you doing?"

"Starting over right? I'm carrying you through the threshold." He smiled.

She smiled back.

He brought her into the living room and set her down gently on in front of the fireplace. Then he threw more wood into the fire till it started crackling. He grabbed a dry blanket for her and tossed the wet one aside. Her body felt cool from standing outside. "You're freezing."

"I don't feel it but you're welcome to warm me up it you like," she offered.

Jacob sat down and wrapped his arms around her. When she felt warm enough he started caressing her shoulder with his finger tips. She closed her eyes enjoying the soothing feeling of his warm hands on her skin.

"Better?" he asked

She nodded. "This feels nice. I love your touch."

"Know what I like?"

"What's that?"

"That I _finally_ get to touch you."

She chuckled. "It was a long wait for you huh?" Her head fell forward totally relaxed with her eyes closed.

"Five years. That's a long time for a grown man to wait. I feel pretty privileged though, not having to wait _eighteen_ years."

She was smiling. "I don't know how anyone could have the patience."

He shrugged. "You just do. It's not easy but, you just enjoy being with someone on other levels. It was really perfect getting to know my wife from the day she was brought into this life and watching over her every day since. I get to have a better relationship with you than most couples ever experience."

She lifted her head and turned to look at him. "Really?"

"Yeah, for sure. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way."

She put her hand on his and smiled. "Thanks. Me too."

He leaned in and she closed her eyes as he kissed her forehead. When they parted he could tell she had something on her mind still. She turned back to the fire and stared at it intensely. "You're my best friend Jake. I love you more than anything."

"I love you too Ness."

"And I'm ready experience being your wife now." She looked him in the eyes to see his reaction. His fingers paused on her shoulders. "But I want to experience it entirely. Just you…not _this_." She picked up the tiny packet off the floor and held it up.

He looked in her in the eyes realizing it's what he really wanted too. He grabbed the condom from her hand and threw it into the fire.

She smiled.

Jacob finally caved. He slid the straps off her shoulders while he kissed her passionately on the lips. Renesmee's blanket fell to the floor exposing the rest of her body. Jacob never thought she could look more beautiful than she did right now.

He pulled her bare body against his. "I love you Ness," he whispered in her ear.

Without any words she touched his face and projected every emotion and desire felt for him. Jacob never felt anything more perfect in his entire life.

Renesmee was still on the floor when she woke in the morning. The room got cold overnight as the fire went out, but she found herself covered in a thick down blanket. Jacob lay next to her playing with her hair.

She rolled over and smiled at him. "Morning."

"Good morning beautiful." Jacob smiled back.

She stretched her body feeling a bit groggy still. "How long you been awake?"

"A while. I showered and had some breakfast but I just thought I'd let you sleep in.

"Oh really? What time is it?" she wondered.

"Almost eleven."

"Oh my gosh… really?" She almost never slept in that late.

Jacob chuckled. "It's no big deal. You clearly must've been worn out from last night."

"Mmm, well that _was_ pretty amazing."

"I'll say! Four times is pretty impressive for someone's _first_ time. I mean I have stamina but you still had me pretty winded."

She reached over and slid her hand over his warm bronze chest, feeling his heart speed up as she chuckled. "Well, you wanna try for a new record?

He chuckled. "Wow, I think I've created a monster."

"Does that mean no?" She pouted.

"Actually… I kinda have thing for monsters." He grinned. "Especially pretty brunette ones."

She rolled over on top of him pushing him onto his back and smiling. "What a coincidence! So do I." Their bodies moved together as they both laughed. She was still undressed from the night before. With her naked body sprawled on top of his, Jacob instantly became excited. He wasted no time tearing off his the fresh pair of pant he just put on.

She moaned with every pulsing movement he made. Every emotion and sensation she felt suddenly shot through him with an impulse that heightened his passion beyond all normality. Each climax was even more intense than the first. After her fifth, he could barely get enough oxygen in his lungs to continue on.

"Hold on," he gasped for air. "I..I don't even think I have anything left in me."

Renesmee realized he was exhausted and out of breath. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine…I just need to catch my breath," he panted.

"Sorry," she said.

He chuckled. "Don't apologize. Just think of all the money you'll save me in gym fees."

She giggled.

"I just can't believe you can go on this long," he huffed.

"Well, I suppose we will just have to work on your endurance training so you can keep up," she teased.

He laughed. "Okay, but later." His breathing started evening out. "I think I need to some lunch to recover first."

"Okay, you go do that. I'm gonna shower." Jacob kissed his wife just before she leaped up and strolled into the bathroom, happily humming to herself along the way. She turned the hot water knob allowing it to warm up. Then she gave herself a once-over in the mirror staring at her reflection. Suddenly, she felt something unusual on her feet. Then she felt it on her leg. It was something warm and moist. She looked down at the floor and shrieked when she saw droplets of blood pooling on the tile and the trail that streamed down her leg.

Jacob heard her and instantly ran into the bathroom. "What's wrong!" he peeked in making her gasp when he stuck his head through the door.

"I…I'm bleeding." She self consciously covered herself with a towel.

His eyes widen when he saw the blood at her feet. "Oh my gosh! Ness, what happened? Are you hurt?" He gasped as he entered.

"No. I don't think so." She thought about it for a moment to see if anything did hurt that she hadn't noticed. She only remembered extreme pleasure just moments ago.

"Well, uh…is it maybe your time of the month." He suggested though it came out more as a question.

Renesmee knew the dates. "I didn't think so. I shouldn't have to worry about that for at least another week."

Jacob cringed with a worried thought. He stepped in and touched her face. "Did I do something wrong? Are you in pain?"

"No, Jacob it doesn't hurt anywhere. Everything feels just fine."

"Are you _sure_?" he said giving her a very serious and concerned stare down.

"_Yes, _I'm sure. I feel just fine," she assured him again. She didn't want him to worry.

"Well maybe we should go back home so Carlisle can look you over."

"No! I don't wanna leave. This is our honeymoon! I wanna stay!"

"Ness! What if something's wrong?"

"I'm okay! It's probably just my period. It _must_ be early."

Jacob sighed. Then he touched her face, stroking her cheek. "You really sure?"

She nodded. "You should go. This is really weird."

"Don't feel weird, I'm your husband. You can share anything with me." He said caressing her cheek. She nodded again still feeling a little embarrassed.

"You still feel like hunting today?"  
"Yes absolutely!" Her face lit up.

He sighed again. "You sure are stubborn."

"Hmm, well I wonder where I get it from." She winked.

"Ok, I'll be waiting for you when you're done then. No rush, okay? And if anything else happens you _must_ tell me at once."

"I will," she promised.

Jacob stepped out and closed the door. Then he went into the other room to make a phone call.


	17. Chapter 17

**Birthday**

Though you couldn't see the sun behind the dense blanket of clouds, it began to brighten the sky as it rose over the horizon. The light slowly broke through the window blinds in Seth's bedroom.

Tara lay curled up next to him on the bed, watching his chest rise and fall as he slept. Her body pressed tightly up against his bare back as he lay facing the wall. His one arm was tucked under the pillow beneath his head. Tara began spending more time there ever since Sue married Charlie and moved in with him. Seth finally had the place to himself now with his mother and Leah both gone giving them the privacy they desired.

As Tara ran her fingers along the side of his body, the tips barely touched his warm bronze skin while they drifted over his shoulders and then down his arm till she reached the borderline of his boxer shorts at the waist. She let them circle and then retraced her pattern again back to his shoulders and neck while taking in the view. Though she always admired gazing at his physique, there was something about watching him sleep that gave her hours of enjoyment; something so entirely peaceful about it. She missed the ability to wind down and simply _relax _and no longer remembered what it was like to experience the feeling. Each night she'd imagine it though, watching him and wondering what he dreamt about. Occasionally he'd talk in his sleep which amused her. Vampires are so easily entertained by the simplest things that humans take for granted.

She patiently waited for Seth to wake so she could celebrate his twenty-first birthday with him today. He never really made a huge deal out of birthdays since he stopped aging. It was just another number to him but to Tara, it was another year and years were all vampires knew. They measured time in the same way days measure time for humans. Though Seth's body wasn't currently aging, she knew there would be a day that his body would begin to, meaning it was only a matter of time until his life would one day expire and she would be left here alone to live the remainder of her existence without him. Though she pondered these thoughts frequently, she never let it be obvious to Seth that it bothered her. It was a secret she kept to herself.

The cool touch of her fingertips finally began to awaken him. "Mmm, you are truly so much better than any alarm-clock," he spoke softly with his eyes still closed.

"Of course," she replied. "I seriously can't imagine how anyone can enjoy waking up to that electronic nuisance. It would put me in a bad mood for sure."

Seth shifted his body, slowly opening his eyes as he rolled over. "Probably why most people arewhen they wake up…. _you _however, make my mornings very enjoyable," he admitted.

"I aim to please. Happy birthday by the way," she smiled

"Thanks." He grinned back at her as she leaned in, softly touching her lips to his. His hand slid up to the base of her neck, eagerly accepting her kiss.

"Mmm," he moaned notice a pleasant scent on her. His lip parted from hers slightly. She could feel his warm breath as he spoke. "You smell delicious. Were you bathing in chocolate this morning?" he kidded.

"Um, well not quite but, you're close."

Seth pulled back a bit giving her a confused look. Tara suddenly sat up enough to expose the giant cake that sat across from them on his desk. The three-layered pastry was nearly a foot tall, covered in a satin chocolate frosting with a coating of walnuts all the way around the sides and fresh berries on top.

"Wow! That all for me?" he asked though he really knew it was of course, _all _for him. The delicious smell of it lured him in now, making him sit up.

"Yup," she replied. "_All _yours. Like it?"

"It's awesome! Where'd you get it?"

"I made it." She looked at him smugly.

Seth returned a glance that clearly said _Y__eah right_".

"What?" She couldn't believe he doubted her.

"Oh, nothing, except for the fact that you hate anything to do with cooking. Um, no offense but this hardly looks like something you whipped up."

"Okay, okay, I admit Esme helped but we really made it ourselves. It's all from scratch too, no boxes." She gleamed with an excited expression, hoping he'd really like his surprise as he went over to the cake and scooped up a finger full of frosting, then stuck it in his mouth. His eyes widened as the creamy spread slid down his throat.

"Good?" she asked.

"It's fantastic!"

"Honest?"

"Yeah! You seriously made this? You're not joking?"

"No joke. In fact I even did all the toppings myself."

"But… how?" He looked at it wondering how she could have sculpted such a fine cake that looked like something off the cooking network.

"Esme gave me a ton of books on cooking and baking, and I even looked up some stuff on line. I've been working on this for a while. I wanted to surprise you and I'm glad I tried doing it myself because I also discovered I really love to cook! It like making art!" Her eyes beamed as though she discovered a new pastime.

"Um. Well. Yeah. Culinary arts…"

"I know I know, but I never thought of it that way until now. It's just like sculpting…but with food. I loved making this, especially for you though. "

He just laughed shaking his head. He was completely amused by her sudden thrill in cooking techniques.

"What?" she asked.

He smiled. "Oh nothing. You're just adorable when you're excited."

"How about I cut you a slice. Oh wait...you _can _have cake for breakfast can't you?"

"Oh yes… I highly encourage cake for breakfast." He grinned.

"Good. I'll go and get you a plate." She started to head for the kitchen but Seth grabbed her wrist before she left the room.

"No, I don't need a plate, I'm good." Then he pulled her close and cupped her face in his hand. "Thank you," he said just before he kissed her.

"You're very welcome." She smiled. "Do you want more?"

"I most certainly do," he said as he scooped a finger full of icing and rubbed it on her neck.

"Um…," Her eyes panned up at him and her eye brows scrunched together giving him a confused look.

"Is this some sort of birthday tradition?" She recalled the moment Jacob and Renesmee each smashed cake all over each other at their wedding reception though she couldn't recall any birthday ritual however that had the same tradition.

Seth grinned. "Oh yes, in fact…it's my favorite one." He spoke softly into her hair. Then he leaned in and licked the frosting off her neck starting at the base and letting his tongue slid all the way to the back of her ear.

The sensation made Tara suck in a breath and her eyes practically rolled to the back of her head before she squeezed them shut and let out a sigh. "Uh, you _do _realize if you continue doing that I will end up wearing this entire cake, don't you?"

"Mmm, well… I certainly won't complain about that," he said.

She looked at him with the most devilish grin using every ounce of strength she had not to rip his clothes off that moment and shove him onto the bed.

"Perhaps you should take off these clothes so we don't get them all dirty then?" she suggested.

"Ding!" he chimed. His plan worked. "Aaand that makes birthday gift number two," he added.

Tara chuckled realizing what he had in mind all along. He grabbed the bottom of her shirt and pulled it over her head and tossed it over his shoulder. Then she reached out and dabbed her finger into the cake, rubbing frosting on her lips and then trailed down her neck and over her breasts. Seth pulled her close and pressed his mouth to hers tasting the sugary coating on her lips.

The cake didn't stand a chance.

The bed ended up looking like a cake bomb exploded on it. Both of them were giggling as they lay in the bed, picking pieces of cake out of each other's hair. Tara never imagined birthday's being that much fun.

"Hmm, I think these are toast," Seth said as he stuck his finger through the giant hole on the sticky, icing-covered sheet.

"Sorry. I wasn't expecting to get that sort of reaction from a cake. You can be sure I'll be making you one _every _year from now on though."

"I'd like that," he said as he wrapped his arm around her bare body and kissed her shoulder. It still tasted like chocolate.

She sighed not wanting to leave just yet. "_Must _you go to work today?"

"Yup, someone's gotta open the shop while Jake's not here."

Jacob felt really bad, not only leaving Seth alone on his birthday to work but also not being able to be there to celebrate with him. Seth of course, being the good friend he was, selflessly told him not to worry about it and to just enjoy his honeymoon.

Seth was perfectly content with the way his birthday started out so far however.

"It doesn't seem like a very fun way to spend your birthday though," Tara complained.

"So far… my birthday is perfect and if you'd like to spend the day with me at work, it will be even better."

"Done," she said without hesitation. "Are you sure there isn't anything else you'd like for your birthday?"

"Nope I got everything I want right here," he said while brushing his fingers over the front of her body.

Then he paused thinking.

"I take that back….there is something I want."

"Really? What is it?" She rolled over, curious of his request.

"I want…" He leaned in and quickly kissed her lips before finishing his sentence. "To pick a date."

"A date?"

"Yes, a wedding date."

"Oh!…Sure, sure."

"Really?" he smiled. It worried him that she might not be ready yet since she hardly ever brought up the issue.

"Of course, it's your birthday. Whatever you want."

He grinned. "That was easy. Okay then…" He reached over to his nightstand to grab his phone and opened up a calendar to look at dates. "Let's see…I really don't want to do anything elaborate…well…that is unless _you _prefer to?"

He looked over at Tara. She was shaking her head and scrunching her eyebrows together. He chuckled.

"Good," he grinned again. "But I supposed we won't be able to keep Alice from crashing our wedding plans, so we should probably allow some time for her to plan something…you think?"

He looked at her again.

"It's unavoidable, _trust me_." She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah you're probably right. Sooo... maybe something in…August? How about, August twenty-seventh?" he said still eyeing his calendar. "It will still be warm enough for…"

"No!" she loudly interrupted. Then Tara quickly sat up and her smile completely disappeared.

Seth looked confused. "Um, no? _No_… you don't like that day, or _no_ you don't wanna get married?"

"No, I mean, not that day. Pick something else, anything else. Something not even close!" Her face looked horrified.

"Okay, okay! But _why_? I don't understand why you're so upset? What wrong with _that _day?"

Her face was stone cold. She didn't even look him in the eyes and the silence started to annoy him.

"Tara! What's _wrong _with August twenty-seventh?"

Her eyes panned up to his face. "It's _my_ birthday," she said reluctantly.

Seth finally understood. It was the date her family was murdered and also the date she was born a vampire. Before now, he was forbidden to even know the date. She'd always refuse to tell him, fearing he might try to surprise her with something on that day. It was a day she swore to never celebrate again and the last thing she wanted was to be married on that date.

He sat up and put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

"I know." She sighed. "What are the stupid chances you were going to pick _that _day?" She shook her head in disbelief.

Seth put his hand to her face and stroked her cheek. "I changed my mind."

"What do you mean?" Her eyes panned up at him.

"I decided I want something else for my birthday."

Now she felt a horrible guilt for spoiling his birthday present. "Seth I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ruin…"

He put his finger to her lips to quiet her. "I want to marry you…_today_."

Her eyes widened.

"Would you be opposed to that?" He took his finger off her lips so she could answer.

"But… what about the wedding…and Alice…and all our friends?"

"We can still have one for them. This is just for us. We'll get our marriage certificate today and get married tonight. No one has to know. Then we pick a later date for the families so they have time to plan something. Maybe October?" he suggested.

The corners of her mouth turned up. "I love that idea."

"Really? You do?"

She nodded smiling.

Seth leaned in and kissed her. "I love you."

"I love you too. I can't think of a better way to end the day," She told him.

"Me either. You don't know how happy you just made me."

"Happy birthday," she said again and then chuckled as a second thought came to mind.

"What's so funny?" he asked

"Oh, I was just thinking about how comical it would be to make Alice plan a wedding for a

Vampire and a werewolf right on Halloween."

He laughed at the idea. "That _is _pretty funny. I'm really more of a shape-shifter though."

"Yeah, but I think werewolf just sounds better."

He agreed.

Once they both showered the brown goo off their bodies, they dressed and got ready to head to the auto shop so Seth could open. He was in charge while Jacob was gone on his honeymoon. Tara spent the day with him as usual. She helped customers in the front who came in, organizing the paperwork and handling the bookkeeping. When it was quiet, she usually stayed in the garage with him helping and keeping him company. She made the day fly by much faster so he could finish early and head out.

Seth had a slight suspicion when she asked him to make a detour to the Cullen home however. He told her not to plan anything but she warned him that she had no control over her party-planning-manic-sister. Without giving too much away, she advised him to be totally ready for anything.

It was completely quiet as they walked into the Cullen house. No lights appeared to be on, nor did they hear the usual sound of the TV anywhere. Tara shrugged her shoulders when she looked over at Seth's reaction. He was totally un-fooled by the façade however.

"Hmm, gosh…I wonder where everyone could be?" he said with a sarcastic undertone.

Tara elbowed him in the ribs making him chuckled and yelled "Ow" at the same time. She heard Edward's tiny chuckle off in the other room. Then she grabbed Seth's hand and dragged him into the living room, when suddenly the lights came on and everyone in the room yelled "Surprise" at him simultaneously.

Seth smiled. His suspicions were correct.

The room was entirely decorated with balloons and streamers. In fact it was a little _too _over-decorated for his taste but he also realized who was behind it all.

"Thanks Alice!" he shouted right away.

Then when Esme hugged him he thanked her, as well as the others when they all wished him a Happy Birthday.

"Is that pizza I smell?" he asked.

"Yup, Tara said she took care of the cake and specifically told Alice to order you pizza instead."

He smiled at Tara. She knew exactly what he liked. "Thanks," he said kissing her on the forehead.

"Welcome. I figured you'd be pretty hungry after work."

"You guessed right. I'm starving."

"Well go ahead, you're the only one eating here!" Emmett blurted.

Seth headed straight for the stack of boxes on the table. There was one of each kind of pizza.

"Holy cow guys! I'm a good eater but I don't think I can tackle this much."

The Cullen's never skimped on anything. Bella had learned that early on when she first met them.

"Just do your best. You can always take the rest with you for later," Carlisle told him.

Seth figured he would have to call some of the guys over to his place to finish off the rest of this much pizza. He knew they'd come running to his house for free food any day. Left-overs were usually scarce in his home.

"We didn't think you'd mind if we threw you something small. I know you didn't want to make a big deal out of your birthday but I couldn't let your twenty-first pass by without a little something."

"No of course I don't' mind Esme. This is really great. Thank you."

"You're welcome. You know you're like family to us." She smiled and gave him a hug.

"Hey wait…where's the cake Tara?" Alice interrupted.

They all looked at Tara, waiting for an answer but Seth suddenly spoke up.

"I um…actually already ate it." He confessed while running the morning's events though his head and the he winked at Tara.

"Already? The _whole_ thing?" Alice question.

Edward groaned from behind them. There were several moments in life he wished he didn't possess the ability to read minds and this was one of them.

Emmett chuckled. "Well from the looks on Edward's face, it must've been a pretty damn good cake."

Tara noticed a hint of red in Seth's cheeks now. She felt pretty good about herself.

As Alice glanced over at her decorated table she noticed something else was out of place. "Okay wait a sec…who stuck these paper plates out? Where the heck did all the crystal one go?"

"_I did_." Emmett confessed. He stood with his arms crossed.

Alice out her hands on her hips. "And _why_?" she growled.

"Cuz…I _hate _doing dishes!"

"Seriously Emmett? It's only _one _dish."

"So? You put like ten of them out here. And besides, you should know better to put crystal out, especially after the last birthday party you threw!" Emmet winked at Bella when he said it too.

Suddenly Bella snapped. "Emmett! You. Will. Pay!"

Seth chuckled. He'd heard the whole story about Bella's birthday many times before but he was the only one besides Emmett that found humor in it. The others were a little sensitive about the incident still.

"Um…sorry. I thought it was funny," Seth said as the other all stared at him for laughing.

Bella was already on the other side of the table as she chased Emmett. He headed for the front door as he laughed too. He still loved getting under her skin whenever he could. It was his favorite part of being her big brother. The others finally loosened up and laughed too as they followed them out front to watch them wrestle. Bella still had a strong arm over Emmett and managed to get him in a head lock until he finally had to give in and apologize. Edward laughed as he proudly watched his wife beat Emmet for a second time.

Once they finished and headed back into the house, Edward's mind reading picked up on the fact that Tara's eagerly needed to talk with Carlisle privately. He suddenly thought of a distraction for her so she could speak with him. Edward also had his own reasons for keeping Seth busy so they could get his other surprise ready without him knowing.

"Seth, I don't mean to bother you on your birthday but since you were here I was hoping you could look at something for me real quick. My engine seemed to be making a funny noise during start up. I was wondering if you could take a look and see what it might be?"

"Um, sure." He looked at Tara. "Do you mind?"

"Nope totally fine. You go ahead. I'll wait for you."

"Ok be back in a few." He gave her hand a squeeze before they parted.

Once Seth was out of sight, Emmett ran back outside and disappeared. And before Carlisle could get far, Tara took him aside and requested to speak with him privately. He lead her to his office so they could be alone.

When Tara entered the study, she noticed the room had been given a make-over since the last time she saw it. The furniture had been rearranged and the room smelled of fresh paint. The wall that once had a very old painting on it was now gone and replaced with shelves and stacks of books and art. She clearly remembered the missing painting was the one of the Volturi. It had hung there for many years, but once they returned from the last trip to Italy, Carlisle took it down and stored it away in another room. She noticed something else in the room though. It was the object that Caius used to try and destroy them; the same one that took out Irina. She wasn't sure of its origins, but she knew it possessed a power great enough to turn one of their kind into ashes with the blink of an eye. She was relieved to know it was not left for anyone who might've returned to the ancient palace and possibly seek revenge. Carlisle figured that might be one of the reason's no one had dared to come to Forks looking for them. None of the guard nor any of the wives bothered to seek them out. They all seemed to disappear. Alice always keeps watch for them in case one of them does decide to make a move, but who would dare challenge them now? Their coven possessed so many powerful talents; a shield, a mind-reader, a fortune teller, and a cloak and all backed behind a pack of vampire hungry wolves. Who would confront such a combination?

As Carlisle sat down in the leather chair behind his desk, he motioned for Tara t take a seat across from him.

"So what can I do for you Tara? Is everything okay?" he asked.

"Yes everything's fine."

"Are you and Seth alright? "Yes, we're fantastic. Actually, we just set a date for our wedding this morning. We were thinking sometime around Halloween."

"That's wonderful news!" He smiled. "So, what's troubling you then? I can see you still have something on your mind."

She paused for a moment trying to think where to begin. Then she just decided to throw a question out there. "Do you believe in God?"

"Yes, yes I do."

"And the afterlife?" she asked.

Carlisle knew where this conversation was going. He's had it many times before with each of his children at some point in their lives. He knew it was only a matter of time that Tara would ask as well though he wasn't expecting her to be so concerned with the issue.

"I do."

Her expression was very serious. "What do you believe?"

"Well I was raised as an Angelical like my father. It was a rather strict form of Protestant beliefs but we followed all the basic doctrines of the Christian bible. My faith has always stuck with me through the years."

"Do you think we can ever go to heaven?"

"Of course I do. It's also one of the reasons why we don't kill Tara. I can only hope that God will find forgiveness for us some day, for what we've become."

"But…you've never killed anyone." It seemed odd to her that Carlisle would seek forgiveness because he was such a good man.

"That's correct."

"Well…what about the rest of us, who _have_ killed. I've done horrible things. Things I regret."

"You'll always have to live with that but I do believe you can be redeemed, like the others. They've all struggled with this issue before, especially Edward. He's still unsure that there is any place in heaven for him, but I disagree."

"Really?"

"Yes. …But, let me ask you Tara, why are you suddenly so concerned about this? Especially today of all days…I would think this would be the last thing on your mind."

She wasn't prepared for him to ask that. "Um, well… its Seth's twenty-first birthday."

"Yes?" Carlisle still didn't quite understand at first but then in the few seconds of silence he remembered the issues Bella had with her aging.

"Oh, I see but I thought Seth isn't aging."

"He's not, but someday he will and none of them truly knows how long they can live. I mean, after all…they're still human. Their bodies can't last forever."

Carlisle knew this to be true. Unlike vampires, the wolves were still human and at some point in time, their bodies would need to begin to function normally again and age naturally. Even their elders before them passed on. It was inevitable.

"I see your point."

"What about us?" Do you think we will ever stop…existing? I mean what's the longest you've known our kind to live?"

"Oh gosh, hundreds, maybe even thousands of years before one gets tire of life and simply gives up. Aro was the oldest I had ever met, not that there wasn't older than him prior. I just never met any."

Tara knew what Carlisle meant by "giving up". The only known way for a vampire to end its existence was to be destroyed by another vampire. The older the vampire, the weaker and they usually never fared well in battles, especially against the younger ones. Those who were as old as Aro would be easily taken out in a fight and many fights did break out over things such as food or territory, or even power. This was one of the reasons Aro collected vampires with special talents. He kept himself protected by a powerful group of vampires so that no one would dare challenge. He obviously never predicted one day he would face a resistance more powerful than his own. He knew Tara's abilities could protect him greatly which is one of the reason's he valued her talents so much and desired for her to return to Italy. He certainly didn't like her siding with the Cullen's or the "infestation of wolves" as he called them, knowing he may one day face another challenge by them again. He didn't realize that he pushed his limits though, when he tried to rip apart an unbinding love and destroy their family. Aro only knew the love of power, but the Cullen's possessed the power of love; a much greater force than all his strengths combined because love is worth fighting for and even worth dying for which makes those who are fighting for it all the more aggressive.

There were cases where Carlisle witnessed vampires that simply gave up on life and no longer wanted to go on for countless years on end. The only solution they had was to go to the Volturi and beg for their life to be ended. When Aro saw it fit, he would grant this wish to them.

Tara clearly remembered the story Edward told her; the one where he believed Bella to be dead and he no longer wanted to exist without her. He too went to the Volturi to have his life ended by them, but that option is no longer available now. The Volturi were gone, wiped out two years ago in a battle to save her life. And now Tara was devising her own plan for her future but she wasn't quite sure how she was going to complete it without help.

"I'm not quite sure where you are going with all this Tara," Carlisle said.

"Well... I was just thinking…if I made things right with my maker then when the time comes, we could still be together…forever….right?"

"I think you have a very long time head of you to be thinking about all this don't you? Seth will probably live at least one hundred years, or more perhaps. You shouldn't be concerned about this sort of thing. Especially on his birthday."

"I'm sorry. I just can't get it out of my head… and the fact that it is his birthday seems to make it all the more real to me. After nearly losing him once, and even seeing that Jacob almost died at the hands of a hunter it made me realize that he's more vulnerable than I thought."

Carlisle started to put the pieces together now. "Tara, please tell me you're not contemplating some sort of suicide mission with the hopes that I would support this action."

"No I would never ask you for such a thing." Tara knew Carlisle would never consider following through with such a task.

He seemed relieved.

"But maybe I'll find someone that will," she said.

In the garage, Seth was bent over the hood of Edward's car looking at the engine, trying to see what might be wrong. The car was purring nicely however though Edward swore to him he was experience troubles with it in order to detain him long enough for the surprise. As Edward stayed tuned into Carlisle and Esme waiting for their signal, he picked up on the disturbing conversation between Carlisle and Tara. He was hoping Emmett would return quickly so he could release Seth and put an end to their conversation.

Seth was explaining what he thought about Edward's car to him, but at the moment he wasn't truly listening to him and failed to respond. Seth noticed the disturbing look on Edward's face.

"Edward?" Seth said trying to get his attention.

"Sorry, I was um…just realizing that Tara was looking for you. You might wanna go see what she needs."

"Oh…uh, '_kay._" He wondered why Tara wouldn't just come out to the garage knowing exactly where he was.

After Seth wiped of his greasy fingers he headed back into the house to find her. When Esme caught him approaching, she met him before he could get to the window, blocking his view from another surprise that they had for him outside.

"Hey Esme, you seen Tara," he asked her.

"Yes she's in Carlisle office." She pointed her in the right direction even though he knew where to go. She was trying to keep his attention away from the window.

"Thanks."

The door was closed so he knocked and then entered upon hearing a "_Come in" _from Carlisle.

"Hey? You looking for me?" he asked Tara.

She was surprised to see him. "Uh…no." she shook her head.

"Oh, that's weird cuz Edward said you were looking for me."

"Oh… right." She realized he was probably listening in and also probably not very happy about what he over-heard.

She made up an excuse. "Oh yeah…I was just thinking about you is all. He must've misunderstood my thoughts. He really shouldn't be so nosey!"

Seth thought he might've interrupted something important from the looks of the situation. Tara quickly changed the subject as a distraction. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pull you away. Did you figure out what was wrong with the car?"

For the moment, the distraction worked.

"Nope it seemed just fine to me." He replied with a shrug. Then spotted Carlisle's empty chair at the desk. He hadn't even noticed when Carlisle snuck out of the room. His suspicions returned.

"So, ah…what's going on?" he asked wondering why she was in Carlisle's office having a private conversation with him.

"Nothing she shrugged." Just talking to Carlisle about some stuff.

"_Stuff_?" he cocked one eyebrow up. "What kind of stuff?"

"_Vampire_…stuff," she said defensively.

He knew what that meant. "Oh, I see. You don't want me to know, hmm?" He folded his arms.

She had to think of another excuse. "You really shouldn't be so nosey about things on your birthday." She frowned.

"Tsk! More surprises? You really don't need to give me anything else. I already got the best present this morning."

"I could _never_ give you too much." She leaned in and kissed him.

It couldn't have been better timing when Carlisle came back and interrupted to announce he had yet another surprise for Seth. Tara raised her eyebrows and shrugged at Seth.

Carlisle waved a hand at them. "This way," he led.

Seth followed him outside where everyone stood waiting out front in the driveway. He looked around but the only thing he noticed was a shiny new Lexus parked out front.

"Surprise!" Everyone shouted.

"Um… what?" he shrugged not getting it.

"What do you think Seth?" Esme asked.

"Of… ?"

"The car, dummy!" Emmett uttered.

Seth looked at them stunned and still a bit confused.

"It's yours!" Esme nudged him.

Seth was stunned.

"What? For real? You guys got me a _car_?"

"Yes. We figured it was about time you had a decent vehicle to drive around, consider this a combination birthday gift and early wedding present from us. Tara was just telling me the good news that you set a date, congratulations." Carlisle smiled.

Another good save by Carlisle, Tara thought. Edward gave her a sour look though. She knew she would have to deal with him later. But for the time being, she was just as surprised as Seth and equally thrilled when she saw the new car. She hugged Esme.

Then Alice fluttered over. "Halloween? _Really_?"

Tara detected agitation in her voice and she chuckled. It was the reaction she'd hoped for.

Carlisle pulled out a set of keys and dangled them in front of Seth.

"I …I don't even know what to say. I can't believe you got me a car," Seth said, still in awe.

"Just say thanks and go check it out already!" Emmett said impatiently.

"Thank you!"

Seth took Carlisle totally by surprise when he hugged him. It was something he'd never done before but Carlisle's stunned expression quickly turned to a smile and he patted Seth on the back.

"You're very welcome."

Seth hugged Esme as well, something he'd done many times being that he was so fond of her. She was quite the cuddly-motherly type, even for a vampire.

"You're like family to us Seth and pretty soon, you will be too!" she said to him knowing about their fall wedding plans also. Carlisle had made mention of it to everyone.

At that moment, Seth realized he would be their son-in-law. It didn't feel strange to him at all however. He grabbed the keys from Carlisle and jotted over to his new car. It beeped when he hit the unlock button on the remote. He beamed with excitement. He'd never been given such an elaborate gift in all his life.

All the others followed to watch him start it up, except for Edward who waited back when he noticed Tara hadn't moved just yet either. She just watched and smiled as Seth excitedly opened the door and hopped in the front seat. Edward glared over at her, displeased by what he overheard earlier.

Tara noticed the angry expression on his face. "Don't give me that _look _Edward. I already know what you're going to say."

Edward hissed through his teeth. "I can't believe you suckered me into taking Seth aside so you could talk to Carlisle about that! If I had any idea I would have never…"

"You obviously wanted Seth out of the room anyway, and besides… it was private business. You shouldn't have been listening anyway."

"I couldn't help it. I _had _to listen to Carlisle because he was supposed to be letting me know when Emmett returned with the car. Honestly Tara, I truly regret even telling you that story about me in Italy. I had no idea you would actually consider doing the same thing someday."

"Well, don't feel bad. You didn't give me any _new _ideas. It's not like you're the first vampire that's ever gone to the Volturi to commit suicide before. Eventually the thought would have crossed my mind. You just stimulated it."

Edward grimaced even more.

She rolled her eyes. "Well I guess this means I can scratch you off the list of people I was going to ask for help," she said.

He let out a growl. "Yes! And don't think about asking my brothers and sisters to help you proceed with this absurd plan of yours either."

"Why not? I have every right to ask them, I'm part of this family too!"

Suddenly their voices were carrying and the others were looking over at them. Seth was the only one didn't pick up on it right away until he looked over and saw she was standing by the house still.

"Hey Tara, come on! Come check it out!" he called to her.

She stopped mid sentence and looked at Seth, putting a smile on her face.

_Mind your own business Edward_. She thought just before she zipped over to the car and jumped in the passenger seat.

It smelled of a new car aroma when she got in.

"Take it for a ride Seth! Have fun!" Esme said to him.

He buckled up and then revved up the engine, putting it into gear and then pulled out onto the windy road.

After a few minutes of silence and noticing Tara's mind was elsewhere, Seth thought he'd ask if she was alright.

"Hey, everything okay back there? You and Edward looked like you were having an argument."

"Oh… yeah, it's nothing." She quickly changed her disposition, not wanting him to worry.

"You sure? He looked pretty upset."

"Eh…you know Edward, he's so over dramatic. Hey, how fast can this thing go?" she quickly said as a distraction.

He grinned devilishly. "Wanna find out?"

She smiled and nodded at the same time. Seth pulled out to the 101 and pushed the pedal to the floor.

After giving the car a thorough test drive, Tara and Seth headed into Seattle to find wedding chapel and luckily they found one that stayed open late. The tiny chapel conveniently offered a variety of packages to couples to include cakes, photographs, scrap books, rings and even tuxedo and dress rentals. They each decided to stick with the most basic of course, with one exception, Seth insisted on a tribal blanket for their ceremony. He'd found one in a Native American shop on their way to the chapel. The ordained man seemed familiar with the custom and was happy to oblige his request. Tara was extremely glad Alice would never be able to see what they were about to do. They chose their vows from a list and were given a copy of them in a small memory book with a photo and a copy of their marriage certificate. A small token from their special day that only they would know about, though they knew it was probably unavoidable that Edward would find out about their secret. Seth knew it wouldn't be an issue however. He knew he could trust Edward not to expose them.

The entire process, including the ceremony was over within fifteen minutes.

Once all the documentation was signed, the vows were said and the rings exchanged, they were pronounced, Mr. and Mrs. Clearwater. Tara couldn't think of a happier moment when the clergy announced her new title. She also couldn't take her eyes off the shiny new band on her left hand that accompanied her engagement ring. It all happened so fast, she almost couldn't believe it to be true.

Seth took notice of her silent stare as he kept glancing over at her in the passenger seat of the car. He wondered what was going through her head at the moment.

"You're quiet again. What are you thinking?"

"I think I'm stunned," she said.

"Are you happy?"

She looked at him with a huge grin on her face like a child that just got exactly what they wanted for Christmas and she nodded. "More than ever."

Seth took her hand in his and held it. "Good." He smiled. "So what shall we do now Mrs. Clearwater?"

She thought for a moment trying to decide.

"Hmm, remember that place you took me on our first date? You think it's still open?"

"The mini-golf?" Seth chuckled. He liked that she was simple and easy to please. "Let's find out."

Sure enough, he found the place and it was still open. They stayed until it closed at the end of the night and ended their evening on the beach, but this time they stayed until the sun rose.

As the ball of light crept up from the ocean's distance edge, it cast a reflection on the water. Beams of light glistened off its surface.

Seth still lay asleep on the soft bed of sand rolled up in the tribal blanket like a burrito while

Tara lay completely motionless, watching him. All was peaceful until a noisy seagull landed beside them. She hissed at the filthy bird and it squawked before it flew off but the sound woke him.

"Mmm, what time is it?" Seth mumbled.

Tara reached over and grabbed his cell phone looking at the time. "Six twenty-two," she said.

He groaned as he stretched. "We should head out. There's gonna be people on the beach soon."

He opened one eye spotting the empty Champagne that lay in the sand. Then he lifted his head and focused on Tara's shimmering body. It lit up as the sunlight touched her skin and the thousands of tiny facets over her sparkled in the morning glow.

"And I'm pretty sure they have laws against nudity on the beach." he gazed at her naked physique.

"It's only against the law if someone can actually _see_ me though."

Seth realized she cloaked herself. "I suppose that's true."

"Besides I think we broke a lot more laws than public nudity last night on the beach." She grinned.

Seth smiled and scooted closer to her touching her face and kissing her cold lips.

"Mmm, I'm positively too cold for you right now," she warned him, trying to pull back.

"That's fine, I will warm you up. It's like a billion degrees in this blanket right now." The steam visibly rose off him as he exposed his skin to the cool brisk air.

She hesitantly scooted forward allowing him to wrap the blanket around her.

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

His body quivered when her skin made contact. "Ah…Okay. I may need some pants." He chuckled.

She smiled. "Thought so… lemme go find them." Then she stood up and looked up at the trees hanging above them. Seth's pants were hanging from a branch above.

He wondered if he was having so much fun he'd forgotten half the events. "Uh, we're we in a tree last night?"

Tara effortlessly leaped straight up and grabbed his pants landing back on the ground.

She strolled back over to him and handed them to Seth. "Nope. I uh, kinda tossed them a little too far."

He laughed not quite remembering how he got out of his clothes since they all came off so quickly.

Tara gathered hers up and started to dress while Seth sat up and slid his jeans on. Then he stood and shook out the blanket, neatly rolling it up.

"Ready to go home?" he asked.

"Mmm, I suppose." She leaned close to him and his lips met hers for a long kiss.

"I kinda wish I didn't have to take this off." She admitted as she looked at her ring finger.

Seth removed a chain from around his neck, slid the band off her finger and put the chain through the ring. Then he fastened it around her neck. "There. Now you can wear it and no one will know."

"Thanks. What about yours though?" she asked.

Seth took his off and took her other hand in his trying it on each finger. It fit over her thumb perfectly.

"Would you mind holding it for me until I can wear it? It will be too hard to wear on a chain if I phase. I might lose it."

"I promise to keep it safe."

"Thanks for giving me a great birthday by the way." He wrapped his hand around her waist.

"Welcome," she grinned.

Seth dangled the car keys out in front of her. "So… you wanna drive us home then?"

She snatched them out of his hand quickly. "I thought you'd never ask!"


	18. Chapter 18

**The Hunt**

Renesmee and Jacob decided to start their morning with a hunt….

As Jacob led them up the mountain range; the one suggested by their driver Akiak, Renesmee started feeling a little unsure about the location. It wasn't the region Carlisle instructed them to hunt in but Jacob felt confident they would be safe.

"Jake, are you sure it's okay to head this way? Carlisle was very specific about where to hunt around here," she warned.

"Sure sure, Akiak said there wouldn't be hunters up this mountain and I believe him. Look at the terrain. No human would climb this. Trust me."

She stopped for a moment scanning the area, looking as far as her eyes could see. She didn't detect the scent of any human blood at all, but she still held onto her doubts. She folded his arms in a pout. When Jacob sensed she was no longer right behind him he stopped and looked back to check on her. He could see she was hesitating.

He rolled his eyes. "If you're scared we could just head back the other way. I'm sure there's plenty of elk on the other side."

She wasn't in the mood for elk today however. Finally, she sighed giving in. "No, no… I trust you. We'll head this way."

He stepped closer and put his hand under her chin, looking into her eyes. "You sure?" he said softly.

She nodded back, gazing into his warm brown eyes. "I'm sure." She smiled.

"Okay then…let's find you a moose."

At that, Renesmee held her hand out. "Off with the pants."

Jacob grinned devilishly.

"Heh! I love it when you talk dirty."

She swatted him playfully before he kissed her forehead, then dropped his jeans to the ground and kicked them off. Renesmee took him as he transformed and carried them while they climbed.

As they both charged up the mountain to a higher plain, they raced each other through the forest till they ended up in a large clearing. Renesmee was the first to spot the enormous bull moose as grazed on a pine. The animal smelled delightful to her and without hesitation she sped off in its direction but the moment the beast sensed a predator it quickly tried to make an escape. Renesmee was too fast for it though. She tackled the enormous creature, leaping on its back and snapping its neck in seconds. She then latched onto the animal's neck, taking her meal.

Jacob casually followed behind, allowing her time to enjoy her food. As he waited, a small breeze rushed under his nose and he caught the scent of a second animal. He lifted his muzzle trying to identify what it was. The scent was unusual, one he didn't recognize. Jacob looked through all the trees trying to spot it but saw nothing. He assumed it was too far from them to worry about and continued on until he reached Renesmee. She was wiping the blood from her lips as he approached. The giant wolf nudged her with his cold wet nose, inquiring about her meal.

"Mmm, it was pretty good. Better than elk but still nothing compared to bear." Renesmee said looking down at the lifeless beast. As usual, she would leave the remains for hungry scavengers in the area, and it didn't take long at all for other animals to pick up the scent of the blood.

Just as they started to move on, Renesmee spotted the head of a massive black bear clearing trees in front of them.

"Look!" she gasped.

Jacob immediately spun around to see what was coming.

"Gosh, he's huge" she squealed, walking towards it. "The biggest I've ever seen. I bet he sure tastes good."

Jacob quickly jumped in front of her to stop her from going any farther. He shook his head, warning her not to approach it.

"What? What's wrong Jake?"

He sensed something very unusual about the animal. It was no typical bear at all. Then suddenly all at once, three more came out in the clearing just behind the first. This was very familiar behavior to him and he knew now what they were up against.

"Woah!" Renesmee's eyes widened.

The other three bears that appear out of the trees were even larger than the first, standing nearly a foot taller than Jacob. Renesmee felt a shiver travel up her spine when she realized all four of them had their eyes fixated on her. Their growls got even louder as they closed in.

Jacob hovered close to his wife now, standing between her and the bear pack for protection, watching their every move. He wished she could hear him to tell her to run.

The biggest one attacked first. When it leaped towards Renesmee she instinctively jumped in the air, hurling herself out of its range. Jacob threw himself in front of the animal, trying to use his weight to knock it down but the bear was much too large. It outweighed him by almost a hundred pounds. He knew it would be difficult to fight off just the one but he now had three more to fight off and knew the task would be impossible. His only chance to save Renesmee would be to keep them fighting long enough and hope she could outrun them, even if it meant death for him. He was willing to sacrifice himself to save her life. He knew Carlisle was right and now he was really wishing he had listened.

Renesmee wanted to run but when she saw Jacob being taken down she couldn't leave him.

"Jake!" she screamed and instantly the bears redirected their attention back to her.

"_No Ness! Run! Run!_" Jacob thought, but she could not hear his pleas.

One of the bears turned in her direction to attack and this time, she stood her ground. Snarling and angry, she barred her teeth at the creature ready to fight. When it lunged she dodged the animal and swung her arm out to smash its face. The bear growled when she struck its sensitive nose but its jagged teeth managed to clip her arm. As soon as she felt the pain and saw the blood oozing from the gash in her skin, she knew these were no ordinary bears at all. The fear set in, knowing these animals were designed to destroy her kind and she knew they wouldn't be able to take on all of them. The bear got back up and charged at her again. She screamed for her life, thinking this would be the end.

Unexpectedly, the bear stopped in his tracks. The other three also ceased fighting and backed off of Jacob. He was bewildered by their actions until he saw a large man walking towards them - someone he recognized.

"Stop!" the man ordered.

It was Akiak. He was accompanied by another tall native; both wearing what appeared to be tribal attire made from animal skins.

"Look!" he said. It appeared that he was speaking to the bears. "The girl bleeds!"

The four large animals all looked where he pointed, seeing that he was right; Renesmee's arm was covered in her blood. Their eyes widened as they watched her wound heal within seconds.

When Renesmee saw the bears listening to him, she pleaded for his help. "Akiak! Please, make them stop. We're peaceful!"

The burley Eskimo walked over to her. "What _are_ you? Are you a BloodDrinker?" He demanded to know.

It all made sense to her now. They obviously spotted her attacking a moose and drinking its blood. They knew what she was but they were confused because vampires don't bleed or have flesh. Renesmee only hoped Akiak would give her the chance to explain.

"I-I won't hurt you, I swear." She stuttered, trembling with fear. Tears ran down her face. "I hunt only animals, not people."

Akiak could see she was scared. He liked Renesmee since he met her and wanted to believe she was not a killer as the others suspected.

"You bleed. Your hearts beats and your eyes are warm. Tell us… what are you then?" Akiak asked again.

She hesitated, worried about how they might react if she told the truth. "I can show you. I have a gift."

"Show me?... How?"

"I need to touch you."

"No!" The other young man warned. "It's a trick. Don't let the creature touch you!"

"It's _not_ a trick. I won't hurt you, I swear. Please trust me_._" she pleaded.

The other native whispered something into Akiak's ear, warning him again but Akiak was sure she was not a killer as they feared. He stepped closer to Renesmee, kneeling down in front of her. Then he looked her strait in the eyes and witnessed the tears roll down her cheeks. He knew that vampires cannot cry. Akiak desired to trust her.

"I will allow this," he said finally after some thought. Then he held out his hand to her.

"Father, no!" The other man shouted.

Renesmee hesitated, afraid to move. Akiak held his hand up and signaled for his son to remain quiet. Then he held out hand out again.

"Now. You will show me this …_gift_," he said.

She nodded and then reached up to his face and touched his cheek. Akiak felt a surge of energy flow though him followed by many visions. She showed him everything about her life. His eyes widened as he watched her life pass through his mind like a movie being played in his head.

"Father! Are you alright?" his son asked noticing the dazed look on his father's face.

"Yes, yes. I just… I need a moment."

"Do you see now? All I said is true." Renesmee asked

"Yes. …Incredible. I've never seen anything like you in all my years."

"How many years is that exactly?" she wondered.

"I am one hundred and twelve years old," he said.

Jacob's eyebrows went up. He's never known an elder that had lived so many years before, and yet looked like he was only half his age.

"These two mean us no harm. They are peaceful as they say." He assured the others.

Both Jacob and Renesmee exhaled and relaxed.

Akiak took his robe off and held it out to Jacob offering it to him so that he may phase and cover himself. He also knew exactly what Jacob was.

Jacob was hesitant at first, but when Renesmee assured him it was alright she changed back into his human form and took the robe.

"Thanks," he said.

Akiak gave him a nod. "Welcome, brother."

"_Brother_? That's a strange word to call someone you just tried to kill!" he grumbled.

"My apologizes Jacob. When I met you, I sensed what you were. I also sensed she was your imprint but when we saw her attack the animal we suspected she was one of the Blood Drinkers returning to the island."

Jacob thought it interesting that they had their own term for them. They too knew of the _ Cold Ones _in their own land. He knew their term must have been passed down through many generations before him.

"We don't see many of their kind, but we recently had one pass through here. It murdered an entire family. We have been searching for it ever since," Akiak explained.

"When?" Jacob wondered.

"Just a couple weeks ago."

"So you're all like Jake then? You're protectors of the island?" Renesmee asked.

"Yes, that is correct," the elder replied.

"Why bears?" Jacob asked.

Akiak shrugged. "Why wolves?"

"Um…I dunno. It's just what we're descended from. Our ancestors were wolves."

"Exactly. Just as ours were bears. We don't choose it Jacob, it chooses _us_. We are the same you and I," Akiak said.

The other young male named Tom (short for his native name Tomkin) spoke up.

"I don't understand. How it is you have imprinted on this…_girl_? She's clearly not our kind."

"I can't explain it. It's just happened the moment I saw her. She's my life mate and I love her. I'm ready to die for her if I have to."

"So we've seen." Akiak remarked.

Renesmee interrupted them. "We bring peace between our two families. My family doesn't harm people either. I think by some miracle it was just meant to be…to bring us together and prove that we can live harmoniously."

"Yes, I know of your kind; Blood Drinkers that don't hunt humans. We can tell by their eyes. We have a treaty with…"

Before he could finish Renesmee grabbed her stomach in pain and moaned. Jacob grabbed her. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"I…I don't know. I don't feel well."

He held her with one arm around her waist supporting her and the other stroked her cheek. "Do you want me to take you back?" he asked.

She didn't want to leave. She was intrigued by their new discovery of the bear clan. She shook her head though she was obviously in pain.

"Would you like for our healer to look at you?" Akiak offered.

"No I'm fine. It…it's just…ah, cramps."

The two Native men looked at each other and chuckled softly, Akiak especially. "Um, didn't you say you're on your honeymoon?"

Jacob rolled his eyes ignoring him as he focused on his wife's condition. "What can I do?"

Akiak made an offer. "Why don't you let your husband take you back to your cabin so you may rest. I don't feel any harm has been done here. Go in peace."

"But what if the girl hunts…" Tom started to speak but Akiak held his hand off cutting him off.

He had a new trust for the girl. After seeing the visions he was sure she would not harm anyone. He knew a good spirit when he saw it and she possessed one of the purest he'd ever encountered. He assured the others that no harm would come to them or their families at the hands of the girl.

Jacob nodded and scooped Renesmee up in his arms.

"Wait!" she said holding her hand out to Akiak. "Will we see you again?"

He touched it and felt the connection once more. "Yes, soon. I must share what I've witnessed to my tribe. I will make contact with you both soon. Be well," he said

Renesmee smiled and nodded.

Jacob carried her most of the way back to the cabin until she finally insisted that she was feeling better and demanded to walk. She talked the entire time mostly about the Bear Tribe. Jacob was as curious about them as she was and he couldn't wait to share the news about them with his pack when he returned home. He had never thought of the idea there might be more tribes like his that could transform but it made total sense being that there are so many other regions where vampires exist. He wondered how many more tribes there must be on the continent and what forms they have taken.

When they reached the cabin, Renesmee was clearly exhausted but also excited by their new discovery. Jacob had to force her to lie down and rest. He lay with her, stoking her hair until she fell asleep. She was out a long time, longer than Jacob expected.

When she finally woke it was late in the evening. She stretched her body trying to motivate herself to get up. She finally dragged herself out of the bed and made a much needed trip to the bathroom. Before opening the bedroom door she thought she noticed a familiar voice coming from the other room. She stepped out into the living room to see Jacob and Carlisle sitting on the couches, talking in a low tone.

"_Carlisle_? What are you doing here?" she asked.  
"Jacob called me last night and asked me to some check on you. He was worried."

"Ugh! Jake! Why did you go and…uh, wait…did you just say _last_ night?"

Renesmee looked over at the digital clock on the kitchen oven that read: 6:47PM.

"Exactly how _long_ have I been asleep?" she asked.

"Like fourteen hours Ness. You really had me worried."

"Jacob says you experienced some bleeding and pain yesterday?" Carlisle mentioned. He was very worried as well.

"Yeah but it's nothing. Like I said before, it just my monthly and no reason get all worked up over. I seriously can't believe you called Carlisle to come all the way up here Jake! My dad is gonna freak now," she said angrily.

"I'm sorry but I just had to be sure."

"Don't worry. I haven't said anything to anyone. As far as the family is concerned, there's an emergency at work and I am filling in. I always take the overtime so they will never know."

"Dad will, as soon as he reads your mind!"

"Trust me, I have enough on my mind at work to occupy my thoughts so that he'll simply tune me out, I promise. He'll never know I was even here."

"Well even still… there's no need. There's nothing wrong with me." She folded her arms.

"How about I just check just to be sure…do you mind? It _was_ a long trip."

She huffed. "Tsk! fine."

Reluctantly, she allowed Carlisle to run some simple tests on her. He'd brought an entire apparatus of medical supplies with him, running blood and urine tests, the whole nine yards. Jacob was surprised he didn't have his own personal portable x-ray machine on hand with him. He was quite useful to have around though he'd thought.

Carlisle found nothing though during his exam however. Her tests all came back clean and she appeared to be perfectly healthy with no more bleeding or pain now.

"I told you Carlisle. There's nothing wrong. I'm sorry Jake made you come all the way up here for nothing." She scowled at Jacob.

"It's no trouble sweetheart. I'd rather be sure. You _are_ my only granddaughter you know."

"I know." She smiled.  
"How's your trip so far?" he asked changing the subject.

"It's wonderful!" She beamed. "Carlisle…did you know there are _huge_ bears on the island?"  
He let out a small chuckle."Well of course, they're over-populated here."

"No, no I don't mean _that_…I mean these bears are like Jake! They formed a pack and they are the island protectors. Just like the Quileute tribe!"

Carlisle turned to Jacob. His expression was no longer a pleasant one. "You hunted off the grounds I specified?"

Suddenly Jacob realized this wasn't new news to him.

"Wait, you _knew _didn't you?"

"Jacob, I warned you for a reason."

"Well why didn't you just _tell _me then! I had a right to know there are others like us!"

"I didn't feel it was my place to disclose the information about them and I especially didn't want them finding out about Renesmee. We're not on as good of terms with them as we are with your tribe. I didn't want to risk it."

The Cullen's held a treaty with their tribe, much like the one they had with the wolves. They always stayed within their own territory however and never caused any problems for the Bears. They also never had any need or desire to get to know them on a more personal level. Jacob thought about it for a moment and realized Carlisle might be right. He was only trying to protect them from a confrontation.

"I'm sorry Carlisle. I thought it would be safer to hunt on higher grounds where hunters wouldn't go but I had no reason to think that the island was protected by anyone."

"Where did you go to hunt then?" he wondered.

"Painted Mountain," he answered.

Carlisle groaned knowing it was not a region where vampires were welcome. "Of all places, what made you decided to go way up there?"

"The driver you sent, his name is Akiak and he recommended it to me. For some reason he thought I was the hunting type."

This made more sense to Carlisle now.

"Of course, he probably, sensed what you are immediately. What about Renesmee?"

"Not a clue. He thought she was human. I mean, why would he think otherwise right?" Jacob explained.

"Well considering you spent nearly four hours on an airplane full of humans and Renesmee has your scent all over her most of the time, no, I suppose he wouldn't assume that."

There were still some unanswered questions that Carlisle wondered about however. "How exactly did you discover _them_?" he asked.

"Um…well they attacked when they saw me take down a moose."

"They attacked you?" Carlisle became instantly defensive. "Did they harm you?"

"No, it's okay, Akiak let me touch him and I showed him everything. He understands that we're peaceful now."

"You showed him…_everything_?" he said cringing at the thought. He imagined the trouble it would cause for them to know there was a vampire-human hybrid in their midst.

"Yup." She grinned.

"And what exactly was their reaction to this information?"

"Akiak was of course amazed by my abilities," she bragged. "He likes me. We're friends."

Carlisle looked at Jacob for approval. He nodded in response. This was an unexpected surprised for Carlisle. He never would have thought to allow Renesmee to give them a comprehensive vision explaining their situation, nor would he have figured it would work out in their favor. "Well, I _can't_ imagine anyone notbeing amazed by you Ness and you're certainly too charming not to be loved. I'm just relieved it was enough to convince them."

Jacob agreed.

"Were you able to mind link with them by chance?" Carlisle asked.

Jacob hadn't even thought about it. "No, but I hadn't tried. I wonder if it could be possible."

"It could be helpful to know where we stand with all of them if you do but I'm not suggesting you try to meet with them again to find out. It would be just fine with me if you decided to avoid them while you're here."

"I can't help but be curious about them though Carlisle. I mean…I had no idea there were others. Wouldn't you be if you thought you were the only one like your kind? Wouldn't you be curious too?"

"Of course I would Jacob. I understand completely. Just don't do anything at the expense of Renesmee's safety."

"I don't intend to. She's my priority while we're here. Honeymoon comes first."

She smiled at her husband.

Carlisle stood to pack up and get ready to leave. "Well, I don't want to take up any more of your time here then. You two enjoy yourselves and please don't hesitate to contact me for anything else, okay?"

Renesmee hugged him. "We won't."


	19. Chapter 19

**Not Alone**

As Renesmee and Jacob neared the end of their trip they spent their last couple days whale watching and visiting some of the museums. Renesmee wanted to see the Alutiiq Museum and learn more about the local culture. Toward the evening after they returned to the cabin to pack their bags, someone knocked at the door.

"Wait here." Jacob said to Renesmee having no idea who it could be all the way out where they were. To Jacob's surprise, it was Akiak.

"Hello friend," he said as soon Jacob opened the door.

Tom was with him again, as well as very tall young man named Elan. They both quietly stood behind Akiak but looked in the door, curiously.

Jacob frowned at the sight of them. "Something wrong?" he asked anxiously. He was in no mood for any surprise visits.

"I'm apologize for the intrusion during your honeymoon but I was wondering how Renesmee was doing. Is she alright?" the burly man asked.

Jacob was a bit relived that he was only out there to check on his wife's condition. He figured the chaperones were for protection if needed and he was pleased to see only two of them.

Renesmee immediately heard her name from the other room and knew the voice. She scampered to the door to see her friend. "Akiak!" she ran up and hugged him.

Tom and Elan immediately panicked when she approached their father and they both stepped in closer towards Akiak to safeguard him. The old man held up his hand, ordering them back. Elan took a step back but Tom still looked agitated and ready for anything. He didn't trust vampires, not even half human ones. The entire situation really bothered him, despite his father's assurance that she was peaceful.

Akiak patted Renesmee on the back. "I'm glad to see you are well. How's the um…cramps?" he chuckled.

Renesmee blushed. "oh , ah…better thanks."

"So it was really nothing serious then? You're well?" It relieved Akiak to hear the news.

"Yes. I'm fine. We've been having a wonderful time since we last saw you. We even went to the Alutiiq Museum."

The old native was flattered that she took such an interest in his culture. "That's excellent! I have to admit though, it's not a very exciting honeymoon activity." He said with a wink.

Renesmee chuckled. "Oh well, it _was_ my choice really . I don't get out as much as I'd like to so everything I'd been able to do and see here has been a great experience. I've learned so much!"

"As long as you're having a good experience then. Who am I to say, hmm?" he smiled.

"Thanks for coming back to check on me Akiak," she smiled back with her rosy cheeks.

"You're welcome. I was worried that you might've been seriously injured during our uh, misunderstanding, the other day. I'm glad that is not the case. And I also wanted to inform you, unfortunately… I won't be your driver tomorrow which is the second reason I came to visit you tonight. I knew I wouldn't get to see you again if I didn't come."

"That's very sweet of you," she commented.

Jacob was busy exchanging unpleasant glances with the other two men as Renesmee and Akiak acted like old friends.

"Thirdly… also came here to warn you."

Jacob was all ears now. "Warn us? About what?"  
"There's been a slow but steady increase in the blood drinker's activities recently. The last several months have been the worst. Though we are more secluded out here, my other brothers and sisters of Canada have informed me they have also been very busy lately."

"What do you mean others?…There's _more_ of you?"

"Of course. Many more. We have various tribes up here."

"Are they all bears too?" Renesmee asked.

"Some are bears, but there are also coyotes and eagles."

"Eagles?" Jacob was astounded. "Can they _fly_?"

Akiak let out a deep laugh. "Of course they can!"

A smile came across his face. He was amazed. The thought of being able to fly was astounding to him.

"They are our eyes. They see everything and track the blood drinkers for us. We have a whole network going up here Jacob. I'm surprised you are unaware of any of this."

"Well, our neighboring tribes aren't like us. We're the only ones in our region. In fact we're pretty new at all this. It all started only a few years ago when the uh…Cold Ones as we call them, came to Forks and we all started going through the change. Before that it was just a legend to us."

"We were also quite peaceful for the longest time. Not much activity going on until the last couple of years, things have really picked up and many more tribes have started going through the change. We've learned to work with them to take care of the problem and keep the humans unaware of our existence as well as theirs. We don't wish to create panic amongst our people."

"Yeah I get that. We are just as careful with our secret as well."

"These new outbreaks we've been seeing are different. These blood drinkers are not like your kind. They are not civilized and cannot be reasoned with. They only wish to feed and they will stop at nothing until they do so. We deal with them accordingly."

They both understood what that meant. Renesmee looked at Jacob knowing exactly what kind of vampire he was describing – The new-born kind.

"Akiak, I don't think you should be talking about all this in front of the girl." Tom suddenly warned him.

Renesmee and Jacob both stared at the native with confusion.

Akiak sighed at his son's interruption.

"Forgive my rudeness…these are my sons, Tom and Elan," he said remembering to introduce them. "Tom is very uncertain about you. Elan however is extremely curious. He wanted to come meet you, in human form this time."

Elan stepped forward and spoke up. "I wanted to apologize for the attack. We thought…"

Renesmee interrupted him before he could finish. "I understand. I also accept you apology. No harm done."

Then she focused her attention on Tom. He still appeared quite unhappy to be there.

"Would you like to see what I showed your father Tom?" she offered, hoping she could ease his discomfort and take away his distrust in them.

He shook his head and diverted his eyes from her direction.

The other brother, Elan, perked up however. "I would," he said eagerly. "My father says you have an amazing gift. I would like to see for myself. I trust my father."

"So do I!" Tom said in an outburst. "I just don't trust blood drinkers!"

Akiak put his hand on Renesmee's shoulder and leaned. "His mother was killed by one of them many years ago. He has never forgotten."

"And you have?" Jacob asked.

"No, I will never forget the face of the one who killed my wife, but…since I've met Renesmee, I have very mixed feelings. There is good in her and my hope is that she and the peaceful ones will help put an end to those who only wish to murder and destroy life."

Jacob was relieved by his words but he couldn't tell if the other two shared his views. "I'm not so sure your sons feel the same way," he said.

Elan immediately responded. "I'd like to," he said.

At that, Renesmee stepped closer to him. His eyes widened, following her hand as it moved towards his face.

"Don't worry, it won't hurt." She said just before her fingertips touched his cheek. The moment her skin contacted his, the visions passed though him. Tom looked on curiously watching as his brother's face changed expressions over a dozen times as he saw image after image.

Finally when he was finished he let out a deep exhale and smiled at her. "Thank you. I understand what father was telling us now."

Elan had a much more peaceful spirit than his older brother Tom. He rarely displayed anger or hatred, even upon those who've wronged him. Tom's dislike for the vampires was on a very personal level though. Ever since he lost his mother when he was just a child, the tragic memory left him with only pain and contempt. Renesmee held his hand out to him again but he took a step back from her shaking his head. Renesmee dropped her hand feeling only sadness for the man. It's not the first time she's been rejected though and she knew it would not be the last.

"We should be leaving you now," Akiak said politely, not wanting to take up too much of their time. "I am so glad our paths had collided and I hope one day we will meet again."

Renesmee hugged her friend goodbye and watched as the three men reached the edge of the tree line and suddenly phased before disappearing into the dark forest.

**Old Ghosts**

The sun was still set behind the horizon at 4am. Seth was peacefully enjoying the warm comfort of his bed. He had only a couple more hours until Tara would come home from her hunt and wake him for work but his deep slumber soon about to be interrupted.

His body jolted when he was rude awoken by an annoying chime. With his eyes still closed he threw his hand over at the night stand to silence the alarm on his cell phone. The chime stopped but he then heard the sound of someone's voice coming from the phone now.

"Seth?...Hello?" someone shouted.

Still very groggy, he lifted his head and realized it wasn't his alarm going off but the ringer from an incoming call. He reached over and put the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" he grunted.

"Seth! Can you hear me? It's Alice!" her frantic voice shouted at him from the other end.

"Alice?" he mumbled barely awake, wondering why she would be calling him at such an ungodly hour.

"Where's Tara?" she yelled very panicky.

"Um…" He paused trying to think. "Probably still hunting…why?"

"You need to find her right _NOW_! She's in danger. Someone's going to kill her!"

Alice's words hit him like a bucket of ice water send shivers down his spine. His body shot up out bed, fully awake now and his heart pounded rapidly as he listened to Alice continue.

"She's at the mountain's ledge by the large water basin." Alice cried. "You have to get to her fast!"

He knew the exact area she spoke of. Without any more hesitation, he dropped his phone and ran as quickly as he could out the door, phasing in mid-air when he leaped. He stopped for a split second and howled a warning into the air for the others. Then he bolted like lightening, disappearing into the woods.

Tara usually hunted very early in the morning when the elk came out before sunrise to get their breakfast, knowing their predators would be hunting for food as well. She normally let Seth sleep in on weekdays, allowing herself enough time to hunt and return home in time so she could leave for work with him. She hoped she would spot a mountain lion this time since she hadn't been having much luck finding them recently. Edward warned her not to pick off too many of the same animal too often. He advised her to mix it up so the wildlife would have a chance to populate itself, thus providing them with more to hunt for a certain period of time.

Her plan was to traveled far up the mountain and heading to a large water basin where she knew elk would be gathering at this hour. Her feet barely touched the surface of the ground as she traveled, making no sound to be detected by animals. She rarely bothered to cloak while hunting as she was amply faster than her prey. The chase was the best part of the hunt. The scent of adrenaline and the rapid beating of a heart amplified her excitement as she chased her victims through the woodlands. Bears and mountain lions were even more of a treat because they tended to put up a fight. Hunting animals gave her all the thrills without the guilt of taking a human life. She missed the taste of human blood but it seemed a good trade.

When she arrived at her destination, she quietly climbed to higher ground above it to search for predators, hoping they would be too busy to notice her since they would be distracted by their own meal. She climbed up into a tree and patiently waited; watching as the elk huddled around the body of water, drinking and chomping on the shrubs that surrounded it.

Finally she spotted what she came for. She grinned when she saw the large cat perched in a tree other side of the creek. It was eyeing its food as well. Tara decided to wait until it would for it to make its move on the elk. Once the feline was distracted with its own meal, she would move in for the attack.

She sat motionless, waiting…..

Then within a few minutes the cat was on the ground and the heard took off in a scatter. This was her moment. She readied herself for the leap but the instant she began to spring forward, she noticed something was wrong. _Really wrong_. Her feet felt like they were weighted with lead and as she propelled herself from the tree limb, her body barely made any distance toward the cat and fell strait down on the hard surface below, knocking the wind out of her. The mountain lion bolted when she impacted the ground with a thud.

Tara let out a groan. A sharp pain shot though her entire body when she landed. She barely managed to crawl to her knees but in a daze she looked down at the palms of her stinging hands, gasping when she noticed the abrasions. An eerie feeling came over her as she realized something was happening to her body. She felt so vulnerable… breakable… weak. She felt… _human_.

Before she could muster the strength to stand, a cold breath hit the base of her neck and it sent a chill down her spine.

"Hello Tara." The voice hissed from behind.

It was a voice of a ghost from her past - one that made the hairs on her body stand straight up. It ached when she turned to see who it was. Her golden eyes widened with absolute horror upon seeing his face. The man's crimson eyes glared at Tara.

"Surprised to see me?" he smiled wickedly as though he enjoyed seeing her in pain.

Her body started to tremble. "It can't be… I killed you," she squeaked.

"Mmm, not quite my dear…you didn't finish the job. Never burned my body. I regenerated," he shrugged with a smirk.

A sinking feeling came over her. She remembered now. She didn't take the time to finish the job. Her only intention was to escape at the time so she left his body in pieces, not thinking he would recover from such a state. She knew she was in immense danger and that he would make his revenge a slow and painful one.

"You know… I've been searching for you for all these years and you actually kept hidden quite well. I thought I almost had you when you were in the east when the news reported all those blood banks being robbed…but when it all suddenly stopped, I was at a loss again. It wasn't until I heard rumors of what you and those Cullen's did to Aro. I couldn't believe it until I returned to Italy and saw it for myself. I immediate started searching for you in Forks thinking you lived with them but I was wrong. Thinking you were on the move again I searched everywhere on the northern west coast until I finally picked up on your scent and discovered your feeding habits had changed."

He stared at her golden eyes.

"I never would have believed you would give up the taste of human blood for a bunch of filthy animals, not until I saw it with my own eyes."

Tara's lip quivered. She tried to bargain for more time, hoping the pack might've sensed his presence and followed his tracks. "Please Derek, just let me be. It's been decades."

He leaned in close to her. "Now, that's what I like. The smell of fear, the pleading…. It's my favorite part."

"I have nothing you want. Just leave me in peace."

"Oh no but that's not true. You betrayed me and left me for dead. I've been waiting for this for a long time Tara. You _owe_ me your life and now I've come to claim it." Then he leaned right in her face. His cold breath chilled her lips when he spoke. "And payback's a bitch," he hissed.

Tara knew this was it. She had only seconds till her true death. Her only thought was of Seth and the pain it would cause him to lose her. She wondered if he find would her mutilated corpse when he came looking for her or what if he never finds her body at all and thought she left him again. Either way, his heart would shatter into a million pieces.

It didn't make sense to do it but it was the only thing she could think to add more time to her life. As quickly as she could, she got up and began to run. Her feet felt like she wore iron shoes. It was like a dream where you try to run but barely move. She felt clumsy and off balance too, tripping on branches and rocks below.

Amused by her efforts, Derek allowed her to run for a while, knowing she'd tire easily in her weakened form. She only made it about thirty feet when suddenly something stopped her abruptly as her body slammed into something solid. She never saw it anything in her path seconds ago, but it was there now - Derek's arm. He'd leaped in front of her and swung his out arm like a bat into her rib cage shattering her bones making her frail body crumple to the ground.

"Ooh! That had to hurt." He chuckled.

She couldn't stop herself from sobbing as she lifted her body again and crawled, trying not to think about the agonizing pain in her chest. Before she got very far he grabbed her by the hair and turned her face towards him. She screamed as he slammed her body into the ground. It was pure enjoyment for him to watch her suffer. When she grabbed his arm, futilely trying to fight back, he noticed something shiny on her finger. He pried her hand from his body, examining the ring on her left hand.

"What's… _this_?" His tone was icy. "Married? You took another mate?"

"You were never my mate. I hated you," she hissed.

He ignored her denial. "That must be what the horrible smell is all over you. Who is he? Or should I ask_, what_ is he?"

Her hand made a cracking noise as he snapped it and she screamed again, still refusing to say Seth's name. Her stubbornness angered him. "Tell me!" He growled.

"Go to hell!" She spat in his face.

He laughed at the suggestion. "Oh…I will, but not before _you_. It's no matter who he is…I'm sure he'll come looking for you eventually. I'll just leave him a little present to find on your dead body." He grabbed her jeans and began to rip them and then she felt the pain as he sunk his teeth into her neck. She shrieked in pain, struggling to fight him off but it was no use. She squeezed her eyes trying not to think about what was to come next_._

_I love you Seth, _she thought_. _ She prayed for it to be over soon but she knew he would force her to endure his torture for hours before he would eventually become bored by her begging and screaming and finally end her misery. When she heard the sound of his buckle being removed, she braced herself for the worst to come but before he could touch her again she suddenly realized he was no longer on top of her. There was a fierce growl that started from behind her and then she felt a gush of wind travel across her body.

Seth had arrived just in time, barreling into the vampire and knocking him to the ground. The sight of the massive wolf stunned Derek when he was faced with mass of teeth that snarled at him in. The vampire's hand reached up and touched the side of his face where Seth ripped open a wide gash. In a panic, Derek began to crawl backwards in the dirt as the colossal beast came towards him in a rage. He realized this creature could possible destroy him if he wasn't careful. Seth lunged for him again but the vampire was much faster, eluding his attack. Derek sailed over him backwards and landed on the wolf's back. Seth thrashed, trying to get the vampire off but it gripped his shoulders tightly. The pain nearly took him down but he knew he would lose if he gave in. He bucked and rolled trying desperately to force it to let go. When he felt its hands reaching around his head, he knew he was in serious trouble.

Just before Derek could snap his neck, something knocked the both of them over, and Seth was freed from Derek's grip. Edward collided with the vampire, knocking him off Seth's back and slamming him into a tree. The trunk split in two as soon as they crashed into it and then it buckled, falling to the ground. Edward instantly read Derek's mind to scan his abilities. "Bella, shield me! Now!" he shouted to his wife in a panic.

But when Derek struck back, Edward's body went sailing in the air. In an attempt to come to his aid his four companions motioned in his direction at a laggard pace. Bella attempted to run to his side but she clumsily tripped over his body and fell over him. He groaned when she kneed him in the abdomen.

_My feet won't move! Something's wrong with me! _She thought, but Edward couldn't hear her. His mind reading ability was gone also.

"Shield Bella!" He yelled at her in frustration.

"I'm trying!" She screamed.

Jasper and Alice both charged at their enemy not yet realizing what was happening.

"Jaz, no!" Edward shouted when he saw his friends heading for the vampire. It was too late though. As soon as Jasper was close enough, Derek grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground by his neck. Alice tried to strike him but Derek simply swatted her off like a fly. Alice landed flat on her back with tremendous thud. She felt her bones pelvic bone crack when it rammed into the hard ground. Derek grinned victoriously. His abilities worked on the Cullens rendering them powerless.

"What's happening?" Bella cried.

"It's _him_. He's able to make us vulnerable; weak as a human."

Seth was the only one still functioning at full strength and was already back on his feet, ready to charge. As soon as Derek spotted him barreling in his direction he hurled Jasper's body straight at him and the vampire collided with Seth, stopping him in his tracks. Jasper bounced off the wolf and fell limp to the ground. He was still conscious but confused about what was happening to him. Seth exchanged quick glances with his injured friend who nodded, signaling that he was alright. Seth knew he was the only one able to stop Derek now.

"Guess it's just you and me then," Derek jeered.

Seth looked around at his friends, all of them too weak to defend themselves. Tara still lay in the same spot, motionless and silent. He wanted to run over to check her condition but he didn't want to take his eyes off her assailant. Suddenly a low growl came from behind the thick of the trees and Derek spotted ten glowing eyes fixated on him and out of the darkness came five masses of muscle and fur, all bearing their jagged rows of sharp teeth. Upon realizing he would be greatly out-numbered he decided to bolt from the scene.

"_Don't let the blood sucker get away_!" Paul thought. The others agreed, eagerly desire to make a kill.

Seth started to chase his friends as they disappeared into woods but he stopped and turned, remembering his wife and friends that all remained in their positions trying to make sense of it all. Only Edward seemed to have any knowledge of what caused their sudden deficiency of power and strength.

Seth's priority became his wife. He ran to Tara's side and hunched over her wincing. He'd never seen he look so crumpled and frail as he did now. With little concern for modesty, Seth phased to human form so he could touch her. His body crouched over hers and he pulled her body into his lap, cradling her in his arms.

"Tara?" he softly touched her face. "Please…please be okay." His eyes started to well up with tears as he remembered her assailant violating his wife. He only hoped he wasn't too late to save her.

Seth barely noticed the when the others had gotten up rushed to his side, anxiously watching. Tara finally opened her eyes. They fluttered rapidly trying to regain focus on the object in from of her. Suddenly she realized her pain was gone and she wrapped in Seth warm muscular arms.

"Seth!" She gasped, cupping his face in his hands to make sure he was real. "Are you okay?"

He exhaled with relief. "Yes! I'm fine…_are you_?"

Tara's had slid to his bare chest, realizing he had no clothes on. "You're naked." She smirked.

"Run out without your pants again did you?" she joked as she immediately clothed him, though only in illusion.

"Thanks, but that's the last thing on my mind. Please tell me if you're hurt," He waited impatiently for an answer.

"I'm fine, now that you're here."

She sat up feeling completely back to normal again. All her injuries were completely healed now that Derek was gone.

_Derek!_ she suddenly remembered in a panic. "Where is he?" she said looking around.

"He's gone." Seth assured her. "But… who is he? Why did he do this to you?"

Tara's face hardened. She couldn't speak at first but she didn't have to. Edward heard every thought and Bella spotted the grim look on his face. "What's is it? She asked.

"He's her maker." He answered.

Seth scowled. "But…you said he was dead."

She looked down shamefully. "So I thought. I never had time to destroy his body. I left him in pieces and ran. He regenerated apparently. I had no idea he would still be looking for me this long."

"Well what did he do to us?" Jasper asked, feeling rather perplexed.

"He has the ability to expunge our abilities. Not just gifts, but all strength, speed, even our impervious structure. Once his victims are in a weakened state, can inflict pain them like he could any human being, making them an easy kill. He's extremely dangerous, a deranged psychopath. Like me, he was turned accidently. Aro initially planned to destroy him until he decided he would serve his purpose better if he could control him. So under the restraint of Renata and Jane, they kept him there until he properly adapted."

"And then he created you?" Seth asked.

She nodded. "Yes, and then I became the new toy."

Seth's body started to tremble. He tried very hard not to phase from the anger that was swelling up in side.

"It pleased him to have a companion and I couldn't object. My desire for blood made me do anything he wanted, anything they wanted. I couldn't control myself, at least not for many years later. When I finally made the decision to leave, I cloaked so he would never see me coming. I made my attack and then fled as quickly as I could. I was sure I had destroyed him since I had left him in completely unrecognizable pieces." Tara grinned slightly embellishing the memory. There was no doubt she took pleasure in eradicating the monster who took her life and killed her family.

Edward became distracted again as he heard more voices approaching. "The wolves are back." He said.

"Did they get him?" Seth asked hopeful.

Edward listened for a moment. "No…." he frowned "He got away."

The wolves continued their search through the night to find the vampire but Seth stayed behind to protect his Tara. She rode on Seth's back the entire way back to reservation so to , keep her scent off the ground as they traveled. She also kept them cloaked just in case.

When they arrived at the house Seth opened the door and then turned, kicking it shut with his foot. Then he gently set her down. Tara stood quietly for a moment staring blankly at her surroundings. It felt good to be home but she couldn't shake the memory of her recent calamity. , thinking. Seth waited patiently for her to speak.

"I need to wash up." She said, barely looking at him. "I can smell him all over me," she grimaced in disgust.

He watched her walk into the bathroom and turn the water to the hottest setting. Then she removed what was left of her clothing. She showed little emotion as she peeled off her mud stained shirt and threw it in the trash can until she suddenly caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and gasped, not realizing how horrible she really looked. Then, remembering what he had done to her, she pulled back her hair to examine the scar at the base of her neck. Everything started sinking in now as the memories flashed through her head. She realized how close she came to being raped and killed.

Seth went to the bedroom to grab some fresh pants. He found a pair of jeans on the bed from the night before and pressed them to his nose. They were good enough for now he thought and slipped them on. He thought to give Tara some privacy but upon hearing a few choice curse words and what sounded like objects being slammed about in the bathroom he decided to check on her. When he peeked his head through the door she was still standing in front of the mirror.

"Um…you okay?" he asked.

Her eyes panned up at him slowly with a pained expression. She nodded but it was a lie.

"Do you want to be alone?" he asked.

She shook her head in reply.

Seth stepped though the door and stood next to her.

"Stay with me," she said in a whisper.

He gently caressed her hair. "I'm not going anywhere."

In an instant her arms were wrapped tightly around him, trying as hard as she could to hold back her pain but she buried her face in his chest and faintly sobbed.

It pained him to see her this way and he worried about what really happened to her before his arrival. "Tara, did..did he…?" Seth choked up before he could even get the words out. It sickened him to think that monster had even touched her in such a way.

"No," she whispered, realizing what he was asking. "You were just in time." She added to ease his fears.

He exhaled with relief.

When she regained her composure she started to remove the rest of her clothing but then Seth thought of something and had her wait. He switched the shower to the faucet and closed the tub drain so it would fill.

"Um…what are you doing?" she asked.

"Filling the tub."

"I see that but _why_?"

"I was gonna draw a bath for you."

"A bath?"

"Yeah, don't tell me you've never taken a bath before."

"Well yeah, I think, when I about _five_."

He chuckled. "Trust me." Then he grabbed some candles from off a shelf on the wall lit them before dimming the lights.

Tara smirked at him when he pulled a hair tie from a drawer and gently started pulling her hair off her shoulders; running is fingers through her silky hair. The tranquil mood he created caught her off guard, completely forgetting about the mark on her neck but the second Seth exposed it he let out grumble, clenching his teeth together rigidly. She threw her hand up over it and tensed up when she saw his expression.

"Did he …_bite_ you?" he teeth.

She nodded looking away.

"_Why_?" he said angrily. He didn't understand the point of it since she was already a vampire.

She hesitated for a moment and the finally answered. "To _mark_ me," she said in a low tone. "He saw my ring. He didn't like that I took a mate."

Seth's eyes filled with over whelming rage. He tried to pry her fingers off hee neck so he could get a better look, Seth kept trying to look at the scar but she wouldn't move her fingers.

"Don't," she said. "Don't make yourself more upset. It means nothing." She was thankful it was the only thing he managed to do to her, knowing it could have been worse.

"_This_ is what matters." She held up her hand showing him her wedding band.

The tub was almost full. She reached down and turned the knob to the off position. She could feel the steam rising up. Tara removed her undergarments stepped into in the hot water and sat down. She looked up at Seth who just stood there in a daze. He shook off his anger when she spoke.

"Wanna hand me the sponge?" she said.

Seth looked down at her. Even after being scuffed through mud and dirt she still looked beautiful to him. His mood softened and he grabbed a sponge from the shower rack and sat down on the floor. Then he dipped it in the water and lathered it with soap and began to wash her back, letting the sponge roll over her shoulder and down her arm.

Tara tucked her knees in and rested her cheek on them. "Mmm, okay I see what you mean now."

"Close your eyes he said to her."

She obeyed but as he continued to caress her body with the warm soapy sponge her nerve endings all seemed to come to attention at once.

Her eyes popped open and she lifted her head when his lips touched her arm.

"You're not very good at this whole _relaxing_ thing."

"It's impossible to relax when you're doing all that. It's like the opposite of relaxing for me."

"Oh sorry." He frowned. "I hoped you'd enjoy this."

She leaned over putting her arm on the edge of the tub and resting her chin on it. "I didn't say I _wasn't_ enjoying it." She smiled. "Maybe you should join me. I don't take up much room."

He grinned. "There's clearly not enough room for me in there. I barely fit in the shower myself."

Unable to resist her strength, she suddenly grabbed him and pulled him into the tub with him, clothes and all.

"Hey!" he protested.

"Hmm, I disagree. I think you fit just fine," she grinned.

He pulled her on top of him and she giggled just before he kissed her.


	20. Chapter 20

** Confession**

Jacob and Renesmee came through the door at the Cullen home where a room full of smiles greeted them as they entered.

Bella was the first to hug her daughter, followed by Esme and then the others.

Seth greeted Jacob with one of those very manly-type hugs that involved a lot of patting on the back followed up by some sort of ritual looking hand bump. It was clearly unlike the mushy embraces that Renesmee was receiving from each family member, including Tara who gave her the biggest hug of all. She hugged her as though she hadn't seen her friend in a few years rather than only a couple weeks.

Jacob felt slightly left out of the affection circle so he decided to interrupt the endearing moment with his usual humor.

"Mom!" he teased holding his arms out to Bella for hug. His enormous grin quickly disappeared the second her fist hit his shoulder.

"OW! Hey, that hurt!"

"I _told _you never to call me that!" Though technically Bella was his mother-in-law, she was not ready to accept that title. She just wanted to be Bella to him - his old friend.

"That's gonna leave a mark you know!" he looked at his arm, the blood already started pooling to the area forming a bruise.

"You'll heal," she shrugged with a grin.

"Thanks." He rolled his eyes.

"Where's dad?" Renesmee asked, wondering why her father wasn't there to greet them.

"He's in the music room," Bella answered.

"Why didn't he come to welcome us home?"

Bella put her arm around her daughter's shoulder. "He's a bit anxious having a hard time dealing with you being all grown up so fast."

"Aren't you?"

"Yes…yes I am but at the same time, I'm really happy for you. I guess the two of us just see things differently. I also don't have to worry about accidently reading your mind either. I think he's afraid of what he will hear. He's your dad and he loves you. Why don't you go to him, hmm?"

Renesmee nodded. Seeing that Jacob was preoccupied talking to Seth, she headed down the hallway following the music that echoed through the house.

"So how were things while I was gone?" Jacob asked, not expecting to hear anything out of the ordinary.

"Um..Well not to ruin your return but we actually have a bit of a vampire problem."

"Really?" Jacob liked the sound of that even though for everyone else it was bad news. "What'd I miss?"

"This one's going to be real trouble. He attacked Tara while she was hunting. I tried to stop him but this is one has a really unique power."

"What's that?" Jacob asked curiously.

"He can block our phasing. I literally lost my ability to change when I was near him. So did the others. Apparently he can turn us all into _normal_ humans...temporarily, but long enough that he could easily take us out. It works on the other vampires too."

"You serious?"

"Yeah."

"That really _is_ a problem," Jacob said,

"I know. We need to come up with a plan to get rid of him. We discovered Bella is the only one who can repel his power and she can shield us. Without her we're sitting ducks though."

"That's bad news. We have to hunt together then."

"Yes. That's the idea."

"Well…I'm down for a vampire hunt. But…ah, I actually have some interesting news for you too."

Seth's eye brow rose as Jacob went on to explain his latest discovery of the Bear Tribes of Alaska.

As Renesmee approached the entryway of the music room, she filled her mind with every happy moment she ever had with her father that could think of.

Though Edward never looked up from the keys, a small smile came across his face when he read her thoughts. The memories warmed his un-beating heart.

She strolled in the room and stood by the piano for a moment listening to the melody. It was one of her favorites.

She sat down next to him, watching his fingers glide across the keys with each stroke. She lifted her hands and began to play long with him accenting each note that he struck. Their hands moved simultaneously as they played, perfectly hitting ever note together. When the tune ended, they both finished with a long note on their pinky, holding they key down until the tone faded to silence.

Edward dropped his hands into his lap and looked over at his daughter with one of his endearing smiles. "Welcome home," he said.

"I missed you daddy."

Edward never tired of her calling him that.

He smiled and chuckled to himself. "You know if I couldn't read your mind, I probably wouldn't buy that."

She giggled.

"How come you didn't come see me when I came home?" she frowned.

He sighed. "You know, I was just afraid you'd seem different in some way… all grown-up now…not my little girl anymore. But, I was wrong. You still look like exactly like my little Renesmee."

"I'll always be you're little girl dad."

He put his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"You know what I'd really like?" she said.

"What's that?"

"Some father-daughter time. You could take me on a hunt, just you and I?"  
"I'd really like that too," Edward said.

"Jacob seems to be busy with some _wolfy_ business right now anyways. He won't mind."

"Yes… yes he is actually." Edward became more serious as he remembered the most recent events that occurred. "I don't suppose you'd mind too much if your mother accompanied us though."

"Of course not. It will be a family hunt then? Just the three of us?"

"Just the three of us."

Renesmee sensed something was off about his mood. "Is everything ok dad?"

He patted her head like a little kid."Nothing you need to worry about sweetie."

When Edward turned to kiss the top of her head and he spotted Bella peeking in on them. She was leaning on the doorframe with her arms folded, smiling at the two most precious beings in her life right now.

Edward smiled back at her lovingly.

Jacob was eager to share his latest discovery with his father Billy first. He brought Renesmee with him so she could show him the events that took place while they were hunting.

Billy knew all the old stories. The ones about their neighboring tribes; the Makahs and the Hohs whom they had peaceful treaties with, but neither tribe wanted anything to do with the magic they possessed. Billy never knew there were others that also possessed the same magic and used it for the same purposes. He was both fascinated and excited by the news. He called a meeting for the tribe and Jacob shared their experience with them. Afterward, they discussed the recent event involving the new vampire and how they planned to deal with him.

While Seth took care of business, Tara was supposed to be waiting for him at home but decided to sneak out and handle some business of her own. It was something she'd been meaning to do once they returned from Seattle.

Keeping herself completely cloaked, she ran into town and headed for the large Catholic church down the street from Seth's auto shop. She usually heard the bells ring for Mass when she hung out at work with him.

Tara hadn't stepped into a church in over fifty years. She superstitiously wondered if the walls would collapse on her the moment she set foot through the doors but all was quiet as she entered. Nothing crumbled. The ground didn't open up and swallow her. It was a lot like she'd remembered as a child.

There was a small water basin just as you passed the lobby to enter the chapel, filled with holy water. Tara stood in front of it looking down at her reflection in the pool. She curiously reached out a finger and held it over the edge. Though she knew all the vampire myths from the movies were untrue, she still never tested the holy water theory. She dipped a finger into the water. Again, nothing happened. Then she stirred it around a bit making little waves with a grin on her face like a kid.

She had a sudden memory of being in Catholic school now. One day she let a bull frog loose in the water basin to get back at one of the girls who had always been mean to her. It earned he a paddling by one of the Nuns but it was all worth it to hear the girl's scream when the frog leaped out and bounced off her dress before hoping off to make its escape.

Tara giggled to herself thinking of the memory until she heard someone from behind her clearing their throat, waiting for her to move. She quickly made the sign of the cross and then headed into the chapel.

She searched for the confessional and waited for the person inside to step out and then she went in. All her old memories of catechism and the doctrines started returning to her. It was an eerie feeling sitting in confession after so many years but once she released her past and sought forgiveness, she felt an overwhelming sense of relief.

When she came out she lit two candles for her parents and then sat it the pew for a moment looking up at the beautifully carved statues and hand painted murals. They were nothing compared to St Peter's cathedral but they still reminded her of one of the things she enjoyed about coming to church. She admired the historical art and its beauty.

Tara sat quietly for a while with her eyes closed and tried to pray. Within a few moments however, she noticed someone had down beside her. She felt a little annoyed wondering why anyone would have to choose to sit right next to her when there were several empty pews available. Tara opened her eyes but when she did, the person sitting next to her was not who she expected. It was Edward. He'd followed her.

She rolled her eyes and sighed. Knowing he could read her mind, it was easy for him to find her, even though she couldn't be seen. She suddenly gave him a visual of herself knowing she probably couldn't get out of the conversation he was about to bombard her with..

"It would be extremely disruptive and rude for you to yell at me in a church you know," she said coldly.

"I'm not here to yell at you. I came to talk some sense into you."

"Well, I'm not changing my mind Edward. There's no point in wasting your time here." She paused. "…and you know, of all people I really expected _you _to understand."

"I do understand, that's why I came to talk to you."

"If you really understood, you'd help me." She folded her arms and frowned not looking at him.

"I want to _help _you understand how important your life is and to not throw it away," he replied.

Someone suddenly _shushed_ them from the back of the room. Their voices had gotten louder than they expected. They switched to a less audible tone for human ears.

"I'm not _throwing_ my life away Edward. I plan on spending a long and happy life with the man I love but when this life chooses a time for him to move on…I just want to go with him, if that's at all even possible. It's my hope though."

"And if you're wrong?" he asked.

"Wrong about what? An afterlife?"

"Yes, then what."

She shrugged. "I hadn't thought about it. But whatever I have to face in the end, it wouldn't be worse than spending an eternity without Seth."

"I get that part and I've felt the exact way you do before but you don't realize how much you'd be hurting the people around you that love you if you were to end you life like that. It's completely and utterly selfish!" Imagine what this would do to Esme and Carlisle and the rest of us … they were very upset with me when I plotted my death in Italy. I have never forgotten the thoughts in their minds when I returned home. How it made them feel to selfishly want to end my life without thinking about how it would affect them."

Edward's family gave him a brutal lecture when he returned. Esme was the most hurt by his actions.

"I'm sorry. It's not that I don't care for you all very much. You're my family and I love you but I how can you all expect me to spend the rest of my existence alone and in pain?"

"But you _won't_ be alone."

"Yes I _will_. You'll get to go home to your Bella, and the others will go home to their spouses, but I'll spend every night alone without him. I can't bear it Edward. It's not fair of any of you to ask that of me. I understand if you don't want the burden of assisting me but don't guilt me for wanting to do this."

Edward saw the desperate look in her eyes. It was the same pain he saw in his own reflection when he thought Bella was dead.

"So there's no changing your mind. You're absolutely set on this decision?"

"Yes, it's what I want."

"Will you even discuss this with Seth?"

"No, of course not. He doesn't need to know any of this."

Edward exhaled deeply. He couldn't believe what he was about to say. "I don't want you to go to the other about this."

"But that's not fair! I have no one else to go to…"

Though Tara thought about asking the pack, there was no way of knowing if any of them would be around either.

Edward sunk back in the pew. "That won't be necessary. I'll be the one."

"What? Her eyebrows popped up. You...you will?"

"Yes. When the time comes for Seth to pass on from this life… I'll help you. I know you're stubborn and would just find some other way to go about it, but I won't want you to have to do that."

Edward knew Tara wasn't about to change her mind. Nor would he have and if Bella never stopped him he would have ended his life that day. He didn't want her to run off and find some other way to destroy her life. He also knew that she would even consider turning her life over to Derek or some other cruel rogue vampire in order to die. She knew that would not be a merciful death but she also wouldn't care at that point. Edward cared greatly however.

Tara suddenly smiled and leaped forward, hugging him tightly. "Oh, thank you Edward!"

"Tara!" Edward grouched.

Someone _shushed_ them again, even louder this time.

She released him worried she'd been too loud and embarrassed him. "Oh sorry."

"No, it not _that,_" he said, reading her mind and looking around to see if anyone was close by looking at them. "I just agreed to end your life and you're _hugging_ me. It's just… weird."

She chuckled. Then she reached for his hand and squeezed it. _Thank you,_ she thought.

Edward touched Tara's face in the same way he'd touch his own daughter Renesmee. "I'm hoping it will be a very, very long time before we have to face this. I don't look forward to it, but I understand everything you're feeling about Seth. Promise me you will say nothing to the others about our agreement. I don't want them to know. Someday I will have to try and explain it to Bella. I can only hope she will understand and forgive me."

Tara nodded.

Edward sighed. "Aright then, I better leave before the roof falls in on me," he joked.

Tara chuckled. "I'm done too. I'll walk out with you."

"Do you want a ride?" Edward asked. "At least let me escort you. You shouldn't be out here alone."

"Don't worry, no one can see me."

Just then, Seth received a text from Seth: "_Where are you_?"

"Crap!" she blurted out loudly.

Suddenly a priest was headed their way to put an end to their disruptive conversation and Edward picked up on his thoughts.

"Let's go." he said, rushing her out of there.

Seth was waiting for her at the Cullen's house. He'd called to look for her, but Alice told him she saw them at the church together but she had no idea what they were there for. Seth thought it very odd. He waited inside until they both pulled up in Edward's car and as soon as he heard them pulling in the drive, he came out the front door.

Seth looked extremely unhappy.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you worry," she apologized looking very guilty.

"Do you have _any_ idea what went through my mind when I came home and you weren't there!" he asked angrily.

Tara glanced at Edward quickly and then the others who were looking out the front door at them.

"Uh, can we talk about this on the way home?" she suggested.

With a frown on his face, Seth nodded and then thanked the Cullens and walked over to his car. He opened the door for Tara but didn't look at her as she got in. He slammed the door shut and then got in the driver's seat, gripping the wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white. He put his head down for a moment talking a deep breath. Then he exhaled before staring the car and sped off.

The silence was deafening until Seth finally spoke.

"I'm waiting…" he said in a flat tone.

"Can you please stop being so angry first," she asked.

"I'm really, really trying." He responded. "I just hope you have a good excuse for taking off into town like that. I mean…is something wrong? You know you can tell me anything, right?"

_Not this_, she thought.

I just had something to take care of," she said trying to think of an excuse she could give him.

"Something to take care of? Alice told me she saw you at a church. What's _that _all about?"

_Ugh! Alice!_ Tara thought. She forgot Alice could see her when she's not with Seth.

Tara sighed. She knew she'd have to tell him.

"I…um…I wanted to go to confession."

"Confession?" His eye brows rose.

"Yes, I was raised Catholic."

"Okay yeah I know, but _why_…why now when there's a deranged vampire on the loose trying to kill you? What's so important that you had to do this …and _what _exactly did you confess to?"

"Uh, pretty much everything."

"Everything? Like…_everything_?" he gasped.

Tara nodded.

"What? Oh my God! Are you serious? How could you _do_ that?" he said freaking out now.

"You really should use God's name in vein you know," she said calmly

"What? Never mind about that…So you told him about your past?"

"Yes. But don't' worry Seth, the priests are bound to their oaths. He'll never tell anyone. Trust me."

"Well…what exactly was his reaction?"

"Actually I think he might've thrown up."

Seth shook his head in total disbelief of what he was hearing. Panic started to set in. "And then? Did he say anything?"

"Yes…he told me I would be forgiven."

"Forgiven? Is that what this is all about? You want forgiveness?"

"Yes," she said looking into her lap. "I…I've just been thinking about some things and I wanna make sure that you know...my soul is secured in the afterlife."

"I just don't get it…why are you worrying about this now? Couldn't this have waited? I thought you guys all virtually live forever …don't you?"

Tara nodded silently looking away.

"Well, if _anyone_ should be worrying about their soul then it should be me. I mean, I'm sure I'll be the first to go, not you. "

"_Exactly,_" Tara said.

Seth didn't understand. He looked at her suspiciously. "You're not telling me something."

She still didn't look at him.

"Tara?" he said waiting for an answer.

She huffed. "I _know_ you won't Seth, that's why I want to make things right with my maker…so I can have some peace about this. I wanna know that we can spend eternity forever."

He shook his head. "What are your talking about?"

Seth thought for a moment and then something clicked. He suddenly pulled the car off to the side of the road before he drove it into something.

"Tara…what are you saying. Are you planning on dying, _when I die_?

She said nothing.

Seth took that as a yes. "No! You can't do that. I mean ….how _can_ you even do that?"

"I've made arrangements. Don't worry about it," she mumbled.

"_Arrangements_? What do you mean you made arrangements?" his voice became louder now.

Seth knew about the time Edward ran off to the Volturi when he thought Bella had plummeted to her death at the bottom of a cliff. He knew Edward had planned on having them destroy him, end his existence. But now that they were gone, he wondered who she could go to. Suddenly it clicked when he realized that's what she was talking to Edward about the last two times.

"Edward!" He said angrily.

She remained silent.

He became even more angry now. "No Tara…no! I'm not even gonna listen to this. You want me to accept this plan? How can you ask me to do that?" His body trembled.

She finally burst out, shouting over him. "How can you ask me to go on living if you pass on Seth!"

"Tara… were talking about hundreds years from now…maybe even more, who knows. Why are you even so worried about this now?"

"A hundred years is _nothing_ for me. I've been alive for over seventy and it passed by me quickly. Vampire years are not like human years. It's not the same for us."

Seth stewed in his seat.

"Please, please, don't be angry with me," she whispered.

She touched his arm hoping for some kind of loving reciprocation but his eyes were glossy and he gripped his steering wheel again tightly. He didn't respond to her touch. His body just shook as he tried to calm himself. She dropped her hand.

"Seth…you know that wolves, real wolves mate for life. When their partner dies, they usually don't survive long after that. They actually mourn for their partner and die of a broken heart. Except, _I.. can't.. die._ I'll just have to live in pain the rest of my existence. How can you expect me to do that? I can't bear the thought of losing you Seth. Please understand." Her voice softened to almost a whisper as she finished and her lip quivered. She crushed her eyelids and lips together trying not to sob and she put her hands to her face to cover her emotion.

Though vampires couldn't produce tears, the pain was there as is the willingness to cry. There was just no release for her pain. It stayed trapped inside, screaming to get out.

Seth's demeanor finally changed when he saw looked over at her. His expression softened and he felt guilty for being angry.

He reached over and touched her hand, "I'm sorry he whispered," then leaned toward her and touched her check to turn it to face him so he could see her eyes.

She dropped her hands.

"It's just …I don't know how to be okay with you committing suicide like that. It seems so wrong."

"I know. For you it is. To me it's seems so right though."

"Forgive me for being angry," he said.

"It's okay, I understand. I knew you would be. It's why I didn't want to tell you."

Seth sighed and swallowed, hesitating before speaking again. "Maybe… there's another way though," he said.

She leaned back, looking at him curiously. "What's that?"

"It's just a last resort kinda thing. I mean…_only_ if I was on my death bed ya know."

She looked at him confused.

"You could… try to turn me." he mumbled.

She had no difficulty hearing him though. "Wha…? No..I can't bite you, you'd die!"

Seth shook his head. "The real truth is…we don't really know for sure. No one's _ever _tested the theory. I mean who'd wanna right? Some of us think it's just a legend or just a symbolic death. You know…like the story in the bible, where Eve bit the apple. God told her she'd die but she didn't really die, not physically. She just dies spiritually. Her innocence died and it gave her a new knowledge. It was a like a rebirth…or something." he said trying to recall the stories he'd heard as a kid.

She shook her head. Her face looked cold and dumbfounded. "I don't want this for you."

"But you want me? Forever…right?"

"Yes but not this way. You don't really want this….do you?

"No…not really. I like being human but if I can spend eternity with you….I don't care. It's worth a try. What's to lose? If I'm dying anyways….then we try it. If I still die…" he took a deep sigh "…then you can go ahead with plan B, as much as I hate the idea."

Tara just looked at him in shock.

"Well...say something," he said.

"I don't know what to say…..except that you're incredibly…"

"Stupid?" He tried to finish

"No, _not_ stupid. In fact you're the farthest thing from it." She sighed shaking her head. "You're just more than I ever deserved. I can't help but love you more than anything."

He smiled and then kissed her. "I love you too."

"I don't know what strange forces thought it would be a good idea for us to be together but I won't complain. I'm just sorry you got the crappy end of the deal." She chuckled.

Seth chuckled too, knowing she was kidding but he also knew deep down she meant it. "I did _not_ get the crappy end of the deal. I'm honored to have imprinted on you. I really don't think I was meant for a human girl. You're perfect for me. Everything about you. If I could go back and change things….I would not change _one thing_….okay?"

She took his hand in hers. "I won't let you down, not ever. I promise"


	21. Chapter 21

**Surprises**

****After giving the newlyweds some ample time to settle into their new home, Edward made plans for his hunting trip with Renesmee. And to keep his son-in-law pleased, he promised not to hunt too far from home so the wolves could patrol the area just in case any visitors decided to pass through.

Both father and daughter headed up to Bear Mountain together on foot. Renesmee was especially being that it had been a long while since she'd hunted alone with her father. She really looked forward to the time she would get to spend with him. Edward challenged Renesmee to a race up the side of the mountain. She was a fast runner. Almost as fast as her father and she greatly enjoyed showing off her abilities, each of which had improved as she continued to mature. Her strength and speed were twice the aptitude she was capable of as a child. Whenever she hunted with Jacob, he would always encourage her to improve, making each meal seem more like a game rather than training. And since she was non-venomous, he could easily play-fight with her, not worrying if she accidentally bit him, in which occasionally she did if she got to excited. Though hide and seek with Jacob was just a simple form of frolic and entertainment for her, in effect it was a defense against her own enemy. Renesmee had a greater advantage, having a wolf for a mate. She knew all Jacob's tricks and maneuvers more than any of the other vampires, which challenged her to be a stronger fighter. It was an advantage for Jacob since he could take on a vampire without the risks of being poisoned by venom. At times he would chase Renesmee for miles through the forest until he could catch her, being very careful not to scratch or bite her. Not once did he ever make any mistakes; not even when Renesmee sunk her teeth on him a few times on impulse. He didn't mind since he always healed quickly but it usually hurt like hell. In the end, he knew it was worth it because the sessions with Renesmee helped transform him into the strongest of the wolves when it came down to hunting and killing vampires

It impressed Edward to watch his daughter sailing through the air, over small gorges and canyons. The two of them ventured higher until they reached an area of caves where a large den of bears resided. When they approached the tire-sized hole in the ground, Edward poked his head inside, searching for slumbering beasts and inhaled deeply. He picked up a distinct feral odor from within. Then suddenly he spotted a rustling movement. He was quite sure now that there was at least one bear inside as it began to grumbling, echoing up through the narrow hole. A pair of eyes opened and stared and Edward quickly leaped when a giant paw swung out at him.

"Anyone hungry?" he asked.

His daughter grinned widely.

The bear started to retreat further back but it was no match for a hunter like Renesmee. She ferreted her way into the hole, trapping creature. It hardly had the room to fight but did its best to claw and bite at her. Renesmee took him out quickly. Without venom, she didn't have the ability to debilitate her prey like the others. She usually had to take down an animal by force, and bears were a fierce challenge. They never gave up easily but it was a challenge she enjoyed.

Once she had hold of the bear's throat, she crushed it's trachea with her tiny yet powerful hands. The creature flailed and thrashed, gurgling as she cut off its airway. Its body finally slumped down to a lifeless mass of fur and muscle. She ripped a patch of fur and skin from its neck to expose its artery. A warm red liquid gushed out as soon as her nails tore it open. Renesmee latched onto the animal, taking large gulps while its heart still pumped blood through its veins. When she felt full, she let go and slunk back out the cave where her dad waited. They both chuckled when she let out an enormous hiccup.

"Oops, guess I was in a hurry. I was quite hungry."

"I'll say…you didn't waste any time taking him out. You used to enjoy playing with your food first," he commented with a sly grin.

"Well maybe we'll get lucky and find some of his friends roaming around." She wiped her mouth of the blood and straightened her clothes and hair that got tussled in the struggle.

"Let's head north then, shall we?" Edward suggested.

As they climbed to higher grounds, Renesmee began to lag behind Edward. He immediately noticed something wasn't right with her. She felt a nagging pain in her abdomen that slowed her to a near halt. Finally, Edward stopped to check on her.

"Ness, what is it?"

He put his hands on her arms and studied her facial expressions, clearly displaying the discomfort she was experiencing. It was the same pain she endured when she hunted with Jacob.

Not wanting to worry her father she tried desperately to shake it off but Edward couldn't be fooled. He also knew now that this wasn't the first time she experienced this symptom. Abruptly, Renesmee keeled over in agony grabbing her stomach.

"Ness!" Edward grabbed her around the waist too keep her from hitting the ground. Saliva welled up in her mouth and she started to experience a sensation she never encountered before - _nausea._ She let out a moan before the gush of blood expelled from her mouth, vomiting her entire meal. Tears ran down her face as she grasped abdomen. Edward held her hair back trying to sooth her. It was the first time she'd ever been sick. She'd never had so much as a sniffle or a cough in her entire life and her present condition truly frightened him. When she seemed to have nothing left in her to expel, he scooped her up in his arms and quickly headed back home as fast as his legs would allow.

When they arrived, Carlisle instructed Edward to lay her on the exam table he had set up in a small room where he kept most of his supplies. It was the same table he used to examine Seth the night Tara broke his ribs during their first date.

Jacob took Renesmee's face in his big warm hands and wiped her tears. "Tell me what happened?" he said in a soothing voice.

"I got sick," she squeaked. Another tear spilled down her cheek.

Carlisle tried not to be rude but he really needed to examine Renesmee without Jacob in the way so he politely asked him to step aside. Jacob reluctantly stepped out of the way but hovered as close as he could without interfering.

"Are you in pain?" the doctor asked.

She nodded. "Just my stomach."

"Did you hunt?" He gently pressed on her belly trying to feel anything unusual as he questioned her.

"Yes. Black bear."

"Did you get any?"

"Just one." Her stomach started knotting up again as she thought about it.

"And did he appear to be healthy? Did you happen to notice any open sores or anything that might have indicated the bear was not healthy?" he asked looking at Renesmee first and then over at Edward.

Edward hadn't thought of that. Though he never actually got a good look at the animal, it didn't seem to be suffering from anything, especially since it put up a good fight. Renesmee started to shake her head to reply but then she suddenly vomited blood into her lap.

"Ness!" Jacob shouted and was instantly at her side again. He was at a loss, wanting to comfort her but not knowing how.

Tears ran down her face again but not from the pain, this time it was from the fear of not knowing what was happening to her body. Her lip trembled as she cried out Jacob's name,

staring at the warm red liquid in her lap. "I'm scared," she whispered to him.

"I got you, I'm right here. Shhhh, it'll be okay." He tried to sooth her nerves but was just as scared as her. And though Carlisle appeared to remain quite composed, the others displayed the same amount of worry on their faces. The doctor was used to dealing with emergencies on a daily basis and very skilled at hiding his emotions from his patients. Though the others could not see his concerns, Edward picked up every thought in his mind, and he too feared the unknown.

"I'll need you all to clear the room, I'd like to give her a full exam," the doctor ordered.

Though Edward and Bella didn't want to leave their daughter's side, they complied in order to provide Renesmee with some privacy.

Carlisle had been Renesmee's doctor since infancy. Knowing there was no way she could ever be treated by any humans, there was no choice about it. He'd examined every inch of her body many times over, keeping track of her basic vitals, measurements and changes that occurred. She was quite used to his poking and prodding though it became less frequent as she aged more slowly and began to mature into womanhood. Renesmee usually came by the house once a month for check-ups, sometimes without Jacob since they became so routine, but this time she wanted her husband close, desperately needing his comfort. "Don't leave me," she said squeezing his hand. Jacob caressed her forehead to sooth her. Noticing it felt slightly warmer than usual.

"I think you might have a fever," he said to her while looking over at Carlisle. He pressed his hands to her flushed cheeks. They were hot and dry.

"I do feel kinda warm," she admitted.

Carlisle pulled a gadget out of his pocket and ran it across Renesmee's forehead. The digital thermometer read 109.6. He cleared it and ran it across her head again. The second time it read 110.0.

"Other than your stomach and fever, is there anything else I should know?" he asked as he headed for the large storage cabinet behind him.

Renesmee shook her head feeling helpless. Carlisle turned around holding several small vials. "Well, let's start with some blood samples then."

She knew the routine. Since her skin was too tough for any needle to puncture she used her razor sharp teeth to bite down on her arm and create an opening for him. The lack of venom allowed her to heal without leaving a scar. Once that was done, Carlisle proceeded to run a series of tests on her, making sure he didn't miss anything.

By the time he finished, her pain subsided and she was no longer feeling sick. Carlisle instructed Bella to take her upstairs to rest. Not knowing exactly what was wrong, he opted not to give her anything but he did suggest Bella lay with her to try and cool her and bring down the fever. She fell asleep quickly as Bella curled up next to her and hummed her lullaby. Jacob and Edward remained down stairs, both pacing about as they waited for answers.

The doctor checked her x-rays, tested her blood and urine for disease and infection but everything came back negative. He was at a loss. _Until… _a single thought popped into his head and suddenly he felt extremely stupid that it never dawned on him before. _Of course!_ He thought.

As Carlisle ran one more test on her blood, Edward listened in closely to his thoughts from the other room. Suddenly his demeanor went from calm to rage and he was on top of Jacob with seconds.

"How could you! You promised me you'd be careful! You _swore_ to me! I knew I shouldn't have trusted you!" Edward shouted.

Jacob hadn't seen Edward this angry in years. He had no idea what was going through the vampire's mind but he wasn't about to let him treat him this way no matter who's property he was on.

Taken completely by surprise, he shoved back though the vampire didn't even so much as flinch from the minor assault."What the hell is your problem!" he growled, staring back at Edward's pitch black and angry eyes.

Esme heard the commotion and ran into the room, followed by the others. When Carlisle figured out what was happening he quickly pulling Edward back before anyone damage could be done.

Jacob spoke directly to Carlisle. "What's going on? Did you figure out what's wrong?" he asked, ignoring all else around him.

"Yes. I don't know why I didn't think of it in the first place when I noticed that Renesmee's hCG levels are through the roof. That explains everything."

Jacob was lost at his new revelation. "Um…can you gimme that that in English?"

Edward glared at Jacob. "It… means… she's… _pregnant_," he hissed slowly.

Jacob suddenly felt his knees buckle. A lump came up into his throat and gravity suddenly began to pull him to the floor. His heart raced faster and then he stumbled back but caught himself quickly before falling. When he was able to stand, he ran upstairs as quickly as he could to the bedroom and slowly opened the door to peek in.

Bella's head popped up and she looked over at him. "She's still out." she whispered noticing who it was.

Jacob entered tip-toeing over to the bed to see his wife. Renesmee looked like an angel when sleeping he thought

"Is everything alright Jake? Did Carlisle find out anything?" Bella asked.

Jacob's eyes started glossing over and tears rolled down his cheek making Bella's eyes widened with fear.

"Jake? …JAKE! You're scaring me. _What's _wrong?" she whispered more loudly this time.

"Bella, please just give me a minute with my wife. I need to talk to her. Go ask your vampire, he'll tell you what it is."

"No, Jake, tell me now! What is it?" she demanded.

Before Jacob could answer, Renesmee woke. She rubbed her eyes looking up at Jacob and then rolled over and looked at Bella.

"You guys are so loud," she mumbled. "What are you yelling about?"

Jacob sat down on the bed next to Renesmee and caressed her hair. "I'm sorry to wake you. How do you feel sweetie?" he asked her.

"Better. Just… _so_ tired. Have I been out long?" she asked.

"No, not long." He paused and took a deep breath before going on. "Carlisle figured it out though. We know why you're sick," he said.

Renesmee sat up in the bed and then ran her fingers through her hair, pulling it off her face. "And ?" Her eyes darted quickly back and forth between he and Bella, waiting impatiently for an answer.

She immediately noticed the tears on his cheek and she became frightened. "Jake! What? Tell me, now!"

Jacob touched her faced. "You're… pregnant."

She stared at him in the face for a few moments and blinked, allowing the news to sink in. Then the corners of her lips turned up and she started to smile. "I'm…I'm pregnant?"

A surprised Bella put her hands on her daughter's shoulders. Renesmee looked at her mom and then she hugged her tightly. Bella wasn't quite sure whether to be happy or worried.

Jacob shook his head. "I'm sorry. I should have listened to Edward. He was right. I was wrong."

"Sorry?" she questioned.

"What do you mean, _listen_ to Edward?" Bella asked. She was unaware of their little agreement.

Renesmee turned around. "No! No you shouldn't have. I'm _glad_ you didn't. He has no place discussing my personal life with you like that."

"Wait what? What are you guys talking about?" Bella said even more curious now.

Edward stood in the doorway, listening to their conversation. "When it comes to protecting my daughter, I have _every_ right to discuss the measures I think are necessary."

Renesmee jumped up from the bed. "It's _my_ honeymoon dad! And that's _not_ something I want my husband discussing in detail with my father! In fact I thought you didn't want to know anything about it and then I find out you give him advice on contraceptives?"

"_Ew,_ Edward! Really?"Bella made a face.

"I was trying to avoid _this_ situation! That is all. I wasn't trying to barge in on your personal life!" he argued.

"You nearly ruined my honeymoon dad!" she shouted.

"I allowed Jacob to marry you but only if agreed not to get you pregnant. I didn't want you to take any unnecessary risks!"

"Ness calm down. Don't get yourself all worked up," Carlisle warned as he heard the voices carry and came up to observe his granddaughter's condition.

Renesmee became very angry and Edward knew he'd said too much. She suddenly folded her arms and started concentrating on some of the more intimate details of her honeymoon.

"Ness!" Edward shouted, reading her mind. "Stop it!" He ordered.

She continued however making her father turn his back and storm out of the room. The house shook when he slammed the front door as he exited the house.

The others started to come in the room and huddled around the bed. Bella put her arm around her daughter "What was that all about?"

Renesmee just turned and hugged her mom. "Am I the only one who's gonna be happy about this baby?" she asked.

Instantly Rosalie sat on the bed next to her. "Oh course not sweetie!"

Jacob knew that look she had in her eyes. "Hell no! You stay away from my wife, Blondie!"

Rosalie hissed, barring her teeth at him.

"Jake, knock it off!" Renesmee ordered.

Suddenly Carlisle stepped in to break up the confrontation before it got out of hand. "Alright, that's enough! Let's remember what's important here shall we? He said looking at them both. Then he focused his attention on his Renesmee. "Ness, when you're up for it, I would like to run some more tests and see if an ultrasound will show us anything. How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine now. I'm really… _hungry_ actually."

"Oh that's a good sign. Want me to get you some blood?" Rosalie offered.

Jacob growled at her knowing what she was up to. He wasn't about to let her anywhere near his wife or his unborn child.

"Thanks Rose. Maybe in a little while. I think I'd like to talk to my husband privately first."

"Whatever you need sweetie, just let us know when you feel ready," Esme said caressing her head. Then she shooed her other kids out of the room.

Before exiting, Bella hugged her daughter and whispered in her ear. "I'm happy for you sweetie." Then she looked her in the eyes. "I'm just not so happy that you've made me a grandmother already."

Renesmee chuckled. "Sorry."

When they all left the room Jacob tried to wrap his arms around her but she held her hand out to his chest pushing him back. He stopped.

"Jake, did you and my father make a deal? Did he really only allow you to marry me if you promised not to get me pregnant?"

Jacob hung his head and sighed. "Yes," he mumbled.

The tears welled up in her eyes now. "So you just lied to me? All those times we talked about having children? It was all a lie then?"

"No. No, Ness I swear. I wanted to have children. I never lied. It wasn't until I asked Edward when I could marry you that he sat down and expressed how he felt about us having a baby. He was worried about what could happen and the more he talked about it the more I started thing that maybe he was right. I'm really afraid Ness, look how sick you you've been."

"Jake, pregnant women get sick. It's no big deal."

"What about the fever?"

"That happens too. It's all okay. You have to just trust me."

He shook his head.

She put her hands on his face. "Please Jake, Please…I just want you to be happy. I want to give you a son. Don't you want that?"

He put his hand over hers. "Not more than I want you….alive."

"That's not going to happen. I can feel it. I _know_ it Jake."

"How? How do you know?"

"I can't explain it. I just sense that I will be fine and so will this baby. Please be happy… you can pass on your family name." She put her forehead against his and knotted her fingers in his hair.

He pulled her in close and held her tightly against his body. "I won't care whether it's a boy or a girl, just so long as you're both healthy," he said.

When Renesmee came out of the room with Jacob he protectively kept his arm around her as she walked. Renesmee wanted to let Carlisle try the ultrasound as well as try to eat some more but she took a quick detour to talk to her father first. She found him sitting on the porch with his hands in his face. Bella sat with her arm around him while they spoke in a low tone. Renesmee let go of Jacob and proceeded alone to talk with her father. When she approached, Bella's head looked up.

"Hi mom. Can I talk to dad?"

She got up and hugged her daughter. "Of course," she said then kissed her forehead and headed for the door. Bella gave Jacob a shove when he tried to stand around to keep an eye on them.

"Quit pushing! I'm going already!" he protested.

Edward sat with his face in his hands. He didn't move as she approached and sat in front of him. "Daddy,…" she said in an angelic tone. "I'm sorry I hurt you."

When he lifted his head she saw the most anguished expression on him. He reached out and touched her.

"Don't apologize. I understand why you were upset. I intruded and it was wrong of me. Bella set me straight. I should not have tried to force Jacob to do what he did. It was because I fear you will face the same experience as your mother. I nearly lost her and I can't bear to lose you. Please forgive _me_."

"I can't forgive you for loving me dad."

Edward made a poor attempt to smile but the sadness still shown through his eyes as he listened.

"I'll be fine. Please don't put yourself through this. It's not necessary. I'm _not_ mom. In fact I'm stronger than she was as a human. I don't think I'll have to face what she did."

"That's what worries me. The only thing that saved her was the venom. If anything goes wrong Ness… I can't do the same to save you," his voice crumbled at the end of his sentence.

"You'll just have to trust me dad. I feel good about this. I can't explain it but I know everything I'll be ok."

"Do you feel the baby yet?"

"No. Not physically at least. It's just something I sense. I don't know…you just have to trust my instincts."

He reached out and pulled her in closer to hold her. He felt a rush of emotion as he touched him giving him the same comfort she felt about the baby. She tried to make him understand her feelings for the baby. It helped that she could provide him with that at least.

He held his daughter's hand as they entered the house and she was now ready to see Carlisle.

Edward and Bella waited outside the room while Carlisle performed the ultrasound. Knowing her thick skin would never allow him to see anything through her belly; he explained he would have to try and view the baby from another direction. Jacob's eyeballs nearly popped out when Carlisle pulled out a giant wand, realizing where he was going to have to put it. This pregnancy thing would take some getting used to, he'd thought. Everything seemed so surreal and it was all happening so fast.

"Just try and relax okay?" he instructed her.

As they watched the monitor, Carlisle moved the device around until finally he found what it was he searched for. It only looked like a tiny white bubble, but in the center of that bubble was a pulsing object. Then he turned the sound up on the machine and they heard the swishing noise of the heart beating.

Renesmee knew right away what that sound was. She smiled and looked at Jake but he couldn't stop looking at the monitor. He was amazed. Now it all came to life for him. It was _his _baby in there, his own creation, a new life.

"Jake are you okay?" she asked squeezing his hand.

He looked at her with a dazed expression and nodded.

"Um..wait a sec…" Carlisle interrupted, staring intently at the screen. Something had happened when he shifted the wand. Suddenly, there was another bubble on the screen.

"What's wrong?" Jacob asked.

Renesmee gasped looking at the image.

"There's another baby." Carlisle answered. "Twins."

Suddenly Jacob's world was spinning again. He felt completely nauseated just before feeling his legs give out beneath him. The room started to become black and he heard Renesmee calling out his name just before he reached the floor when suddenly he felt a cold arm underneath him.

It was Edward. He'd dashed into the room sensing that Jacob was about to pass out from the shock. He pulled him out of the room and found a seat to plop him in, then he ran back into the room to be with his daughter. Bella was already in there holding her hand, looking at the two little pea pods on the monitor.

"Um dad, this is really awkward," she said.

She was extremely glad that Carlisle had covered her up with a sheet and she was turned toward the back of the room but it was still really weird for him to be in the room.

Edward came over and stroked his daughter's hair. "I pretty much delivered you, changed your diapers and bathed you myself. There's really no shock factor for me anymore. Don't even worry about it."

He smiled but it soon faded when he saw the two embryos on the screen.

"Well Carlisle? What are your thoughts?" he asked.

"I think everything looks really…_normal_ actually. Honestly Edward, I'm not sure you have much to be alarmed about at this point.

Renesmee smiled.

"I told you to have a little faith." Bella said as she nudged him.

He put his arm around her and kissed her forehead finally smiling.

"How Jake, dad?" Renesmee asked, concerned for her husband's weakened state.

Edward thought for a moment.

"He's fine. He just went to the kitchen to get some water. Seth and Tara just pulled up. They'll take care of him for a while."

"Why don't we get you dressed and try some more food for you if you are up for it?"

Renesmee nodded. She was feeling quite empty now.

Jacob sat at the kitchen table with his head in his hands trying to keep the room from spinning. Seth and Tara had just walked in the front door, noticing it was extremely quiet. They knew Jacob had to be there since his car was out front so Seth's first stop was the kitchen.

"Hey Jake," he said first but then noticed his friend looked really horrible. "What's wrong?" he panicked. Seth rushed to his friend and sat next to him, putting his hand on his shoulder.

Jake cleared his throat before he spoke. "Um…Ness is…pregnant," he had difficulty spitting the words out.

Seth sat back and his eyes widened. "Uh, really? Already? You sure?"

Jacob nodded. "We just looked at the ultrasound."

"Wow."

"That's not all…"

Seth waited anxiously.

"She's having twins."

Seth's jaw dropped. He looked over at Tara who had the same shocked expression on her face and then back at Jacob.

"Wow!" he said again. "I…I don't know what to say Jake. Congrats?"

Jacob shook his head. "I don't even know how to feel right now."

"Well how did the ultrasound look? What did Carlisle say?"

"I don't know. I nearly passed out when he said the word _twins_. I had to come in here and shake it off."

"Can I go see her Jake?" Tara asked. She was concerned about her best friend.

"She's up stairs with Edward and Bella looking at the …_babies._" He has to remember there was more than one now.

Tara ran for the room. When she arrived Renesmee was fully dressed and sitting up on a table like she was waiting for something. Bella and the other women stood by her engaged in a quiet conversation that seemed to involve baby names.

"Tara!" Renesmee squealed as soon as she saw her.

Tara entered and carefully hugged her friend. "How are you?" she asked.

"I feel pretty good right now. Hungry though. Dad and Carlisle went to get some human blood for me. I haven't been able to keep anything down so they thought they'd try it to see if the baby likes it better."

Tara nodded. It seemed like a good idea.

"Well it's exactly what _you_ needed when Bella carried you. It only makes sense." Rosalie said smugly from the back of the room.

Before long, the men returned with two units of blood. Carlisle handed one of them to Renesmee.

"It's got a tube in it already. You can drink from it like a straw."

"Alrighty…here goes nothing." She put the tube to her lips and the red fluid traveled up to her mouth. She continued until it was completely empty.

"How was it?" Bella asked.

"Mmm. Real good. I'm starving."

"You want another?" Rosalie asked.

Renesmee thought for a second, making sure she wasn't queasy. Then she nodded for more.

Carlisle handed her the second bag and she drank it almost as fast as the first. Her belly felt full and satisfied and everyone seemed relieved that she managed to hold down the blood.

"Why don't we move you to a more comfortable setting now?" Rosalie suggested, wanting to take her to the living room.

"Actually I'd like to go see Jake now." She spun her legs off the table to hop down but the moment she stood, her head spun and the nausea set in.

Only Edward knew what was wrong and he suddenly grabbed a pan to put under her chin. He made it just in time. Both bags of blood came hurling out of her unexpectedly. Bella held her hair as Rosalie held her arms balancing her as she nearly fell forward convulsing.

Tara stepped back feeling tempted by the smell of the fresh blood. A low growl came from her chest and Edward suddenly shoved her back. Her body went flying through the door and out of the room. At the same time, the pan of blood Edward held fell to the floor splattering everywhere.

Tara crashed into the wall and landed on the floor but when she got back up her black eyes fixated on the blood and she began to charge. Fortunately Seth and Jacob were already on their way back to the room and as soon as Seth saw her he charged at Tara slamming his body into her before she could make it back into the room.

Rosalie no longer had hold of Renesmee, she began to lose control too when the blood spilled everywhere and Jacob had to leap between her and Renesmee to keep his wife safe.

Edward dragged Rosalie out of the room and slammed the door shut keeping everyone else out and leaving her in there with only Jacob, Bella, Carlisle and Esme. He knew she'd be fine with them.

Jasper and Emmet grabbed a hold of Tara quickly before she could charge again.

"Tara! Calm down before you hurt someone!" Emmett shouted holding onto her arm.

Jasper tamed her mood as he held her other arm and she started to relax. When she finally snapped out of it, she realized what she'd just done. She gasped and fled instantly trying to get away from the smell.

Alice was proud of Jasper for not being the one who lost control this time. He was so concerned for Renesmee he didn't even think about the smell but it started to finally get to him and he decided it would be best to leave the area as well and Emmett decided to follow, taking Rosalie down stairs until they could clean up all the blood.

Seth still lay on the floor in the hall, clutching his arm. He took out his shoulder when he ran into Tara.

Once everyone else was gone Edward looked back in the room to check Renesmee's status. She was no longer ill but she lay curled up on the bed while Jacob and the others tried to clean up the mess with bleach soaked towels.

Seth pushed himself off the floor and peeked in. "How's Ness?" he asked.

"I'm fine. How's Tara?"

"Probably upset. I'll check on her. I just wanted to make sure you're not hurt though."

"I'm not. Let he know I don't blame her, and I'm really sorry for all the blood."

"Aw…no worries. It's not your fault either."

Carlisle took one look at his arm and knew it was dislocated. Without warning he snapped it back into place. Seth yelped sharply.

"Sorry, had to be done," The doctor said.

"Thanks," he moaned holding back several profanities. As he started to leave the room to look for Tara Edward mentioned she was in the garage.

He just gave him a mental thank you and went down stairs.

When Seth entered the garage however she was nowhere to be seen so he called out for her. .

A small sigh came from the corner. He walked over and saw her sitting on the floor near some open gas cans. The fumes irritated her nose and helped mask the blood scent. He walked over and sat down next to her still favoring his tender arm.

She glared at him. "You hurt?"

He nodded. "Remind me to never run into you like that again. You're like a brick wall."

She frowned. "Is it broken?"

"Just dislocated. Carlisle fixed me up, as usual. No worries."

She growled and shook her head. "I can't believe I did that. I don't know how I could be so careless."

"That was a lot of blood. You can't expect too much of yourself."

"I _can_ and I _do_. I almost hurt my best friend and I injured you in the process. I can't lose control like that again."

"Don't worry. I won't let you."

She sighed again. "We're married but we're not attached at the hip you know."

"Tara, the Cullens have your back to, so don't beat yourself up over this, 'kay?"

"Are they mad?"

"No, actually they're worried about you. They're just preoccupied trying to clean up and take care of Ness."

"Is _she_ okay?"

He nodded. "She seems to be for the moment. She's not puking blood anymore at least. Are you ready to go back up stairs? I'm sure the blood is all cleaned up by now."

She nodded.

Inside, Bella helped get Renesmee cleaned up and then moved her to the couch. Jacob curled up next to her stroking her cheek until she fell asleep. The run of events wore her out completely.

Within a couple hours she awoke again feeling hungry but she was too afraid to ask for more blood. Edward really worried about her condition now that she was unable to feed.

Rosalie was even more concerned about the babies not getting enough nourishment. It had been at least three weeks since she has any blood in her digestive system and she suggested the idea of hooking her up to an IV. Carlisle thought it was worth a try if he could get it to stay in place once he got it in her.

When Renesmee saw Tara and Seth enter she immediately perked up.

"Tara!" She reached out her arm for her.

She slowly approached her friend feeling horrible about her actions earlier.

Renesmee took Tara's hand in hers and showed her all the events that happened, the ultrasound and everything. Tara smiled.

"It's okay Tara. It's not your fault. I'm not mad."

"Thank you," she responded and then gently hugged her best friend.

Edward suddenly groaned and then looked over at Seth with a frown. "You're _pizza_ delivery is here. Please get rid of him quickly," he ordered.

Just then, the door bell rang.

Seth had ordered some pizza since it was late and he and Jacob hadn't eaten dinner.

"Uh, sure. I'll go take care of it. Had to get _something _ya know. Not all of us like blood," he said.

As soon as Seth said those words, it instantly triggered a thought.

"Ness?" Edward said.

"Yeah dad?"

"Would you like me to make you some eggs?" he asked.

"Um, …" she thought about it for a second. Eggs actually sounded pretty good to her right about now. Her hollow stomach ached for something to fill it.

"Okay but you might want to get a bucket ready just in case."

"Good then. I'll be right back."

As Edward sped into the kitchen and scrambled some eggs, Jacob followed and he and Seth stuffed their faces while Edward cooked.

He brought her a plate full along with a large bowl, just in case his theory backfired.

Tara decided it would be best if she stayed in the kitchen with Seth, just to be careful.

Renesmee sat up and cautiously took a bite. She chewed slowly at first but they tasted so good she proceeded to scarf down the whole plate.

Then they all watched and waited.

So far so good. Ten minutes passed and she held them down. She finally decided to lay back down making herself comfortable.

"I think that did the trick," she said.

"Human food," Carlisle said. "The babies don't want blood, they want real food. They're rejecting a blood diet."

Jacob smiled. He knew that meant the babies must be human then. He began feeling better instantly. He smiled and then kissed his wife.

"Hmm, you smell good," she said.

"I do? What do I smell like?"

"Cheese and sauce and… _garlic_."

"Sorry, it's the pizza."

"Is there any left?"

"A bunch, but… you _hate_ pizza."

"I know, but for some reason it smells really, really good. Maybe I could just try it?"

Bella ran into the kitchen and grabbed a whole box. Renesmee pulled a slice out and started to nibble on it. They all eagerly watched as she chewed.

Within a few more bites she was done and asked for more, until she nearly finished off the rest.

"Well there's no doubting those are _your_ kids in there!" Seth joked.

They all chuckled with relief except for Rosalie who just rolled her eyes. Her excitement about the babies was suddenly relinquished by the thought of them being more like Jacob and less like Renesmee. Jacob could see the disappointment in her expression and he was glad.

He suddenly looked at his wife in a whole new light now and all his fears suddenly drifted away as he gazed upon the mother of his children.


	22. Chapter 22

**Three Months Later  
**

**September**

Renesmee's pregnancy looked even more optimistic as she no longer had problems eating so long it was solid foods. She started drinking water now as well. The diet change took some getting used to, but she didn't mind.

She finally formed a tiny little bump on her belly and was excited that her clothes started fitting tightly enough that she needed to shop for maternity ones. Carlisle checked her routinely making sure everything looked good.

Everyone seemed more at ease now - even Edward. Though he certainly wasn't ready for his little girl to be a mother so soon, he couldn't help feeling a teeny bit excited about himself. The important thing to him however, is that she was healthy and happy. Bella told him he should feel blessed; not only to have fathered a child but also to have two grandchildren on the way - something he never dreamed even possible just five years ago. When he truly gave it some thought, he realized how it must've looked from Esme and Carlisle's perspective as well as the others who would never have the same opportunities he has been given. He decided to change his outlook on the situation and display a more supportive attitude.

Alice only had a month to finish planning everything for Seth and Tara's wedding. Originally they considered a beach ceremony but since Alice predicted grim weather for the month of October, their plans needed to be changed to an indoor wedding instead. Alice was relieved that none of the clergy in town were willing to perform a ceremony on Halloween so they opted for the day after which was November first; All Saints Day.

Not only did Alice insist that Tara wear a traditional white gown, she volunteered to design and created it herself. Tara spent most of the month going back and forth for measurements and fittings, mostly while Seth was sleeping so he would never see.

That lasted only until a recent occurrence of murders began happening. Carlisle had been keeping tabs on them. They originally stared in the neighboring cities but then there had been two killings within city limits that had Charlie and his force working day and night trying to track the killer. Carlisle knew though when the papers finally reported that the victims were all drained of their blood. He suspected they weren't all from the same attacker however. Some of the murders were happening nearly at the same time but in different areas, far too stretched out in distance to be the same vampire. Carlisle worried that with the Volturi being gone now, there would be a rise in new born killings and no one to control it.

**EQUINOX**

Carlisle's shift at the hospital started out pretty simple. He was covering for another ER doctor that had called in sick with the flu. It was going around and most of the patients he saw were coming in with it too. There were four children and three adults all with symptoms of fever and nausea in the waiting room. He was the best one to treat them since viruses had no affect on him.

The Forks hospital was extremely glad when Carlisle returned after leaving Fork just a few years back when the whole family disappeared for several months. This was during the time when Edward decided to leave Bella following her disastrous birthday party. Carlisle decided to explain his absence and transfer to a California hospital as an excuse to have some cosmetic procedures done. He claimed he discovered a very good plastic surgeon there that was really quite amazing and well worth the money. Everyone bought the story of course. It gave them a perfect explanation for having such youthful appearances.

Just before Carlisle's shift was about to end, the paramedics rushed in with a young man on a gurney. He was experiencing severe convulsions and screaming in agony.

The paramedic started to give Carlisle a full report.

"We got a male; approximately forty-years of age, found at the scene of an animal attack on a campsite. Only injury we found on his body is a laceration on his left arm."

Carlisle started to examine his body as they rolled him into the ER, moving him to an enclosed area.

Carlisle looked at the wound on his arm under his shredded clothing. It was precisely what he was looking for; the bite mark of his attacker. He now knew exactly what was wrong with the man but he wasn't sure what he would be able to do to treat him, knowing there was no way to relieve his agony and no cure for what was happening to him. He also wasn't sure how long exactly the venom had been spreading. He hoped there might be time to get it out of his system before it started the transformation but didn't know if he could even get him alone long enough to even try. He had to think fast.

Though the paramedics had strapped him down, the man still screamed and thrashed on the table.

"Can you tell me your name?" he asked him.

His eyes were already darkening and the tear ducts had been sealed by the venom. He heard the doctor's voice through the pain.

"I'm burning! Please! Make it stop!" he hollered.

"Do you know what did this to you?"

"His eyes!" he bellowed.

The nurse tried to get an IV in his arm but the man struggled so much they had to get another aid to help hold him. Carlisle knew his veins were already sealing up and hardening, they'd never be able to get a good line in.

The screaming started disrupting the other patients now but they were unable to get his pain under control.

Carlisle wished he could use his phone to contact Edward to let them know he had a serious problem here. Soon the man would start showing obvious signs of her transformation. His eyes were already turning black but it wouldn't be long before they began transitioning to a deep crimson and his strength would increase during the conversion. Carlisle worried he might harm one of the nurses or aids.

As the one of the male nurses tried to drive an IV into the guy's arm, he unexpectedly grabbed his wrist. The nurse screamed as he began to twist it but Carlisle was fast enough to grab his hand and free the nurse. He backed away clutching his wrist.

Then he clawed at Carlisle begging him for to stop the agony.

"Help me!" he shouted as the venom burned his veins.

Carlisle knew this had to be the doing of a vampire who was either careless or had malicious intent. It was rare a vampire would leave its victim alive, especially any newborn. They were would usually be too tempted by the blood and drain them to the point of death and then obscurely hide the body. Whoever bit this man had to have either been interrupted or they showed a great amount of restraint by biting but not drinking their blood. Carlisle possessed the ability to do so, but not without difficulty. Edward had even done it once with Bella but it was only because of the love he had for her was more important to him. He doubted whoever was responsible for biting the guy had any compassion for human life however. One way he knew of being able to turn down a meal, is if you were full. If you fed and then immediately bit another, resistance would be easier. He wondered if any other bodies had been found nearby where they discovered him.

As he tried himself to get an IV line in with the hopes of pumping him with pain meds, a high pitched buzzing began echoing through the hallways.

Someone had pulled the fire alarm. People in the ER began scrambling about wondering if there was a fire somewhere in the building. The nurse's station was buzzing with phone calls and PAs, nurses and aids were all suddenly trying to clear out the people that sat in the waiting rooms and also those that were being treated but could be moved.

Carlisle's patient was the only true emergency they had at the moment and he took control, discharging the rest of the staff so he could figure out what to do. No one even noticed the man's loud screams now with the piercing alarms going off.

As Carlisle strapped him down and started to move him out, he got an unexpected but thankful surprise. It was Edward, Alice, Jasper and Tara. Alice had gotten a glimpse of Carlisle struggling with a new born just before he was brought in. They gathered and came as fast as they could to help. Unsure of what they were up against, they brought everyone, but the others all waited outside nearby just in case.

They needed Tara to perform the illusion of a lifetime now. All three of them were cloaked already as they came in passed the rush of people trying to get out. The three of them liked not being able to be seen. It was quite a handy gift to possess they all thought.

Before Edward could even read her thoughts to stop her, Tara was behind the gurney.

"Wait!" he shouted.

But it was too late. She'd snapped the man's neck, instantly killing him.

Alice gasped.

"I'm sorry. There's no time. We need to get him out of here and dispose of the body," she said very coldly. It wasn't something she wanted to do, but they couldn't afford the time to try and save her at the expense of being exposed. Her first priority was to cover up the evidence and get rid of him.

"She has a point," Jasper said. "A screaming patient would indeed attract attention and we need to move quickly."

The others agreed realizing they were right.

Tara's had the unpleasant duty of destroying other vampires when she lived with the Volturi. Whether it was at their command or by personal request she would rip them apart without them even seeing it coming, just as she did with Derek. Edward realized had she still been there when he went to the Volturi, she might've been waiting for him in the shadows to step out into the sunlight and end his life.

"Does this hospital have an incinerator?" she asked.

"Yes. It's in the basement," Carlisle answered.

They quickly moved the girl out of there and while Carlisle fabricated a story that the man assaulted him and escaped. He realized that if for any reason their plan didn't work they might have to skip town quickly and start over again but the staff seemed to buy his story. They had no reason to distrust the good doctor. He was a saint to them.

As soon as Tara and the others finished what they needed to do, they left unnoticed before the staff was allowed reentry into the building.

The Cullens thought the worst of their troubles were over but the really had really only just begun.

While Tara and the Cullen's were preoccupied with the man at the hospital, Jacob and his pack had problems of their own.

While Quil and Embry were on patrol near the border, they tracked a rouge vampire they caught hunting near a camping area. They chased him onto their land to try and trap him but he headed north for the Canadian border. They alerted the others for back up and the chase began.

They stayed in pairs trying to surround him and close in from all directions but he was fast. New borns possessed great strength and this on seemed to have speed as well.

Seth was the fastest runner in the pack and his long legs put him ahead of Jacob.

_He's heading for the river! He's gonna get away if he makes it!_ Jacob thought.

_We're almost there. We'll be waiting for him if he does_! Sam replied.

_I'm on him!_ Seth shouted in his head.

The young vampire they chased was a college graduate from Seattle University. He had been passing though the town of Forks on his way to meet his girlfriend that lived in a nearby town. He never showed however. He stopped to get gas and something to eat before he continued on his trip but something attacked him. His only last memory was being thrown into the trunk of his car where spent the next three days in unbearable agony. No one heard his screams or the banging and kicking from the inside of his trunk as he endured the excruciating torture; his veins seared shut by the venom until it finally reached his heart, hardening it into a solid stone. The man awoke with his throat in flames and with a thirst that was maddening. As soon as he tracked the scent of human the blood to camp site he was on an uncontrollable path to slaughter the helpless victims that wouldn't stand a chance against him.

Seth trailed him closely. He pushed himself even harder to try and catch the vampire winding in and out of the trees and over small ravines. His desire to take out the murderous savage drove him even harder.

He thought the vampire would continue on a straight path, but instead he turned and headed east trying to dodge them. Seth skidded in the dirt as soon as he noticed the vampire made a change in direction and turned his body to chase after him.

Jacob turned as well and started to follow. The others all linked to their minds finally realized they needed to turn as well. Jacob knew the direction they were headed would lead them straight for a canyon though.

_Seth, he's not slowing. He doesn't know the area. If he makes it he'll either try and jump or fall in. _

_Good, maybe we'll get lucky and he'll get trapped!_

Seth tailed the vampire again. He was less than a hundred meters from him how and closing. The vampire wasn't slowing however. When it neared the edge of the cliff it actually started increasing speed, if it were even possible and took a leap over the canyon.

_Seth wait! It's too far!_

_No, I can do this!_

_No dammit! Don't! Let it go!_

Seth didn't listen however. He leaped in the air soaring towards the edge.

"SETH!" Jacob shouted, coming to a sliding halt at the ledge.

Jacob could see that he got enough momentum to make it, however something happened he didn't expect. As Seth was mid air he saw the vampire land on the other side but as soon as his feet touched the ground, Derek appeared out of nowhere and stopped him in his tracks. He grabbed the vampire by the throat and crushed his neck into pieces, all while at the same time he felt his body changing. It started shrinking and the fur disappeared until suddenly he realized he was no longer the wolf. His arms reached out for the ledge in front of him and his body slammed into the side of the cliff. He grasped for the earth to hold on for his life. He groaned, struggling to pull himself up.

Derek casually walked over to the edge and knelt down. He wore a victorious grin on his face, that made Seth panic.

He cruelly watched as Seth tried to keep himself from falling. He seemed to have a grip on the rocks but his muscles trembled from the fear and the exhaustion.

Derek stood back up and looked down now.

"Gotcha." Was all he said just before he kicked his face.

Seth's body went flying back into the canyon, landing on the rocks below.

"SETH!" Jacob thought. A giant tear ran down his fury face.

He watched helplessly as his friend plummeted to the bottom. There was nothing he could do.

Derek looked down and then turned and disappeared. His job was done.

Jacob frantically paced on the rocks above then suddenly he let out a sorrowful bellow.

After the fire department finally cleared the alarm, discovering someone had falsely activated one of the pull stations, the hospital finally returned to its normal function. Carlisle was busy filling out a ton of paperwork on the crazed man that was brought in and supposedly ran off during the chaotic evacuation. The police department sent a unit over to investigate his disappearance and a form a search. The man had been the only remaining witness the killing of two other campers whose bodies were reported by hikers in the area. It was believed to be the result of an animal attack but they had to be sure.

Carlisle couldn't imagine the situation getting any worse for until he received a private call from Charlie who was currently at the scene of the incident. The news he was about to receive however was far more tragic than anything he could have envisioned. As soon as Carlisle hung up, he immediately redialed. He called Edward's cell.

Edward and the others all regrouped together once their mission was completed, leaving Carlisle to finish picking up the pieces. As they were heading back to the house Edward pulled his phone from his pocket and checked the number. Upon realizing it was Carlisle he took the call hoping for some good news and that their plan worked. It had nothing to do with the bite victim. In fact that problem seemed trivial in comparison to the information he was trying to digest at the moment.

The alarming looking on his face instantly worried Bella, thinking there was something wrong with their daughter.

"Edward, what is it? What's wrong? Tell me!" she demanded to know as he ended the call.

He didn't need to read her mind to know what went through it. He put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head. "It's not Renesmee. She's fine." He assured her.

Then he slowly turned to face Tara. "We need to return to the hospital. It's Seth."

The words hit her like tidal wave.

The park rangers responded to a call about a hiker that had fallen into a canyon. When the rescuers arrived, finding his crumpled body in the bottom, they were shocked to even find a pulse on him. He barely held on as they airlifted him to the hospital.

Carlisle was ready with a team of doctors as they brought him into the trauma unit. They immediately put him on ventilator and started a full assessment of his injuries. Seth sustained severe head trauma, broken ribs, multiple lacerations to the body, and compound fracture on his lower right leg. His outlook appeared extremely grim at the moment. They immediately controlled the bleeding and set his leg. Once he was stable they continued with X-rays and gave him blood.

Friends and family instantly starting pouring in as they heard the news. They anxiously awaited for an hear an update on his condition. Only Sue and Leah were allowed to be in the room with him, though Tara let herself in anyway. She could have just told them she was his wife but she didn't want to add more tension to the heap of stress they were already dealing with.

Carlisle hoped he would see an indication that Seth's body was already beginning to heal, but there was no such sign. Even the minor abrasions on his face and arms were still visible.

He showed no improvement over the last several hours and Carlisle began to worry. His pupils were still unresponsive to light indicating there was no brain function. Seth was clinically dead; his body only being kept alive by the machines that pumped air into his lungs. He was also still bleeding internally and if they didn't do something to stop it he would eventually go into cardiac arrest and die. Carlisle was doubtful however that even if they performed surgery he would recover. Without his ability regenerate, and lack of brain activity, there was no hope for him.

He entered the ICU with them and closed the door to give them the tragic news. Sue nearly collapsed and Carlisle grabbed her before she fell. Leah looked like someone has just ripped out her insides. The tears began to run down her face and then quickly wrapped her arms around her mother. They both clutched each other sobbing.

Tara envied them. All the pain and grief built up inside her like a balloon; expanding and stretching till the sides became weakened and ready to tear from the pressure. She slowly stepped towards his bed, looking upon his broken body, covered in tubes and wires. She couldn't take it any longer. Her feet were moving before she even had time to think about it. She ran out the doors and headed for the forest till she was far enough away that no one could hear her. When her legs no longer felt like they wanted to carry her, she fell to her knees and screamed as loud as she could.

Concerned for her safety and mental state, Edward grabbed Bella's hand and ran after her. He was the only one who heard her mental cries. They found her crouched next to a small tree that looked as though it had been split in two. She breathed heavily and her body trembled.

As soon as she heard their footsteps she quieted herself and became motionless.

"Tara?" Bella spoke softly.

She cautiously approached her and knelt down beside her friend. Bella put her hand on Tara's shoulder. "What is it?" she asked fearing the worst.

Tara's head dropped and she squeezed her eyes shut.

"Carlisle wants to take him off life support." Edward explained. "He doesn't think there's any hope."

Bella looked at Edward with a doleful expression and then back at Tara.

"Oh no." Her heart sunk. She couldn't imagine never seeing his chipper little smile or the sound of his energetic laugh ever again.

Edward felt just as crushed. He loved Seth like son. He had no idea how he'd even begin to explain this to Renesmee. She completely adored him.

Edward knew what Tara would be asking of him soon. He hoped this day would not come for a very long time. He almost felt regret for agreeing to it now but as he watched felt the torment she was experiencing and seeing the unbearable agony of losing him, he couldn't imagine allowing her to live like this for an eternity.

Edward knelt down next to her as well and put his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry Tara. Please know how grieved I am and that I understand everything you feel right now. I'm ready to take care of whatever needs you have, anything I can do to ease you pain. Just ask and it'll be done."

Tara knew exactly what Edward's words offered. Her expression suddenly went from sorrow to blank cold stare. She thought for a moment and then stood up and finally looked at him.

"There's something I have to do first."

The nurse tried to stop the three of them from entering the ICU but Carlisle allowed it. The nurse started to protest when they didn't suit up in masks and sterile gowns but he knew it was pointless anyway.

Edward was arguing with Tara as they came through the door.

"Tara, you need to think this through. You don't know what could happen and you know his family won't allow it. You could cause a war!"

"I _have_ thought it through Edward and we discussed it. He gave me permission. I would never consider this if he hadn't suggested it to me."

"Suggested what?" Sue asked curiously, over hearing the conversation.

Both she and Leah were staring at her now, waiting for a reply.

"I wish to take Seth home with me. If he dies, I want him home with me in our house."

"It's _not_ your house." Leah snarled. She still didn't accept the idea that her brother lived with a vampire, especially in the house she grew up in.

"It's my _home_." She hissed.

Sue stood and wiped her face. "What are you planning on doing Tara?"

She took a deep breath before speaking. "I want to try and save him." She said.

"What do you mean?" Sue said confused.

Leah understood however. She realized what Tara was planning.

"NO! You will not! That would kill him! I swear if you even touch my brother…!"

"It's what he wanted! He told me!"

"You lie!" she spat.

"He said he wanted to be with me and if this is what it would take than he was willing. It was his idea, never mine. I actually told him no and he insisted. I swear to you."

"_When_ did he tell you this Tara and _why_ would he tell you this? What would prompt him to even consider such a thing?" Sue asked.

She crushed her lips together at first, afraid to tell them. She had no choice however. She did her best to keep Edward's part in it secret however, in case she needed the backup plan still.

"We had a discussion. It was on his birthday. It was …death. I knew there would come a day when he would eventually pass on and leave me here. He saw how much the thought of it bothered me and he made the offer but it was something we thought we would be dealing with decades from now. I _never_ imagined I would have to face this now. It kills me to see him like this..."

"You just want to turn him into one of your kind! You don't even care what it will do to him!"

"That's not true! If I could have a choice I'd want him back just the way he was. I didn't want this for him! I want him to live a normal life."

"If you wanted my brother to live a _normal_ life you would have left him!"

Edward grabbed Tara the instant she thought about ripping Leah's head off. He caught her just in time and held her down.

The noise level attracted the attention of the nurses and they were forced to move the conversation to another room. Edward pulled Jacob into it since he would certainly have a say in the matter. He knew this could cause huge problems for both sides and start a battle between them.

Tara explained the conversation she had with Seth on his birthday. She swore to him that Seth wanted this and if it could save his life she begged him to allow it. It was like De ja Vu. It was the same situation when Bella wanted to be turned so she could be with her husband, Edward…forever. Jacob couldn't even fathom the idea of it; not until he finally witnessed her die as she gave birth to her daughter. His best friend wouldn't even be standing in the room right now if Edward hadn't pumped her heart full of venom to save her. It was her only hope and now his other best friend was dying as well. No one ever tested they theory. No one ever tried to turn one of them. It was truly a mystery if they'd die or not. Jacob was afraid to even think about what could happen.

"If even dare try this I swear I will kill you myself! I will never let you do this to him!" Leah shouted.

"Leah!" Jacob cut her off. "You can't do that. She's an imprint!"

"It won't matter …when he's gone," she mumbled.

Jacob cringed when she said it.

"You'd rather let him _die_?" Tara said venomously.

Leah said nothing. She bit down on her lip when it began to tremble.

Tara snarled clenching her teeth. "Well, I won't allow it."

"Tara…" Carlisle spoke. "Legally Sue has the right to decide. I understand your pain but you won't be able to get him out of here without a legal battle and that could draw attention to us. Are you willing to cause a conflict that could possibly expose us?"

Tara stood silently thinking; debating her next move.

Edward's eye grew wider as he listened to her thoughts. Finally she spoke again.

"I'm terribly sorry Sue, but you do not have legal right to decide for Seth. I do."

Tara pulled off the chain from around her neck and also took the ring off her thumb and showed it to her.

"I don't have the paperwork with me right now but I can prove to you that we are married. We got married on his birthday, also by his request. He wanted it as a gift."

She put her hand to her face and a tear fell from her eye.

"I don't wish to do this against your will. I know how dearly you love your son. I love him too. More than anything. If I could give my life for him right now I would do it without hesitation."

"But Tara…you'll kill him if you do this," she whispered sadly.

"No… he's already dead."

She teared up even more. Tara took her hand and held it in hers.

"Just let me try. If it doesn't work, it won't matter. It won't change anything… but if it works, you have the chance to see his face again. He'll be a different but he'll still be Seth….Please Sue. I beg you to permit this. I don't wish to fight you on this but I can't bear the loss."

Sue had never seen Tara looked so frightened or anguished before. She looked more like a helpless girl than a monster. She knew Tara's intentions were not malicious. She also knew Tara really loved her son and she loved him too. The thought of seeing him again was belong tempting. She couldn't bear the thought of having to bury her son so soon after burying her husband. When she envisioned Seth's tombstone right next to Harry's she started to cry uncontrollably. Tara dropped her hands feeling lost. She didn't want to start a war. She didn't want to hurt her friends and cause hatred between the families. She was willing give up and allow Edward to just take her out in the forest and destroy her, putting her out of her misery.

Before she could even turn to him Sue spoke again.

"Tara…" she said in a crumbling voice.

"Yes Sue?"

"I don't want to be there to watch this even take place. I don't think I can but I'm not willing let go yet. You may go ahead. I'll release him to you."

Tara cupped her hands in her face.

"Mom! No!" Leah shouted.

Sue grabbed her daughter. "Leah, don't! I know this is hard but I don't want to lose him. Please baby, don't make this harder for me than it already is."

The anger on Leah's face turned to sadness when she looked in her mother's eyes. She started to cry and Sue held her in her arms.

"But mom, you don't even know what this will do to him. What if he wakes up and tries to kill someone? What if he tries to kill _you_? I don't want to have to hunt down my own brother."

Bella stepped over to the both of them and touched Sue's shoulder.

"Mrs. Clearwater…." She said. Sue faced her.

"Can we talk?" she asked.

Sue was not blind to the events that took place just a few years ago. Though she didn't have all the minor details, she always knew what the Cullens were and she knew about Bella and her relationship with Edward, and of course their child together Renesmee. Seth kept her filled in on a lot of the stories, though he was careful not to tell her about the times he risked his life to save them from a eminently dangerous group of vampires, come to annihilate them, or why he left for Italy to go after Tara. For the most part, she accepted Seth's relationship with Tara and his friendships with the Cullen's. They'd always been good to him. She also adored Bella, who was now also her daughter-in-law. If anyone could out her at ease about Seth being turned, it would be her.

She and Bella spoke privately for a few minutes. When they were done, Sue told Carlisle to allow Seth to be moved. She didn't even force Tara to show a marriage certificate. She didn't want to fight it. She could only hope to see her son again, even if he would no longer be human.

Leah wasn't about to agree to it so easily however. While Sue went to go sign the necessary paperwork, Leah stood by Seth. She held her little brothers hand and said goodbye, knowing this is that last time she would probably ever see him. She couldn't bear the thought of what they were about to do or think about what might happen to him if the plan succeeds.

Within minutes, a crew of paramedics came in the room to get him ready for transport.

Leah stood up and moved out of the way. She scowled at Tara across the room then quickly left before they put him in the ambulance. She barely made it to the border to the forest when the wolf exploded out of her, and she ran as fast as her legs would go.

A mournful bellow could be heard coming from the forest and echoed through the night.


	23. Chapter 23

**New Born**

Carlisle instructed the medics bring Seth to his house so he could be best prepared for anything. The family members all watched as they brought him into the living room placing Seth into a hospital bed they had prepared for him. Carlisle had everything ready; a portable ventilator and an AED unit to monitor his stats. Once the medics left, Carlisle requested that everyone leave the room to give Tara some privacy. She sat on the bed next to him and held his hand. It was still warm under her fingertips. Though she felt the blood pumping though his veins, his heart sounded weak. It no longer thumped with the same strong tempo she was used to.

Carlisle stepped in to check his pupils again, then routinely checked all the equipment. He listened to Seth's heart rhythm and thoroughly examined the wounds once more. The injuries caused a lot of discoloration throughout his mid-section. He knew this would only worsen with time and there wasn't much left.

"If you are going to do this Tara, you need to do it soon." He cautioned. "He's still bleeding internally. Even with a respirator, he doesn't have much time left now."

Tara nodded, keeping her focus on Seth's face. Everything became even more real to her now and the fear started to creep over her as she truly thought about what she was going to attempt. As she sat holding his hand, listening to his heart beating, she realized this could very well be the _last_ time she would feel him, or the _last_ time she would see his face. He was close to death now and the thought of biting him scared her just as much as letting him go. She was completely torn. Her memory of the pain he endured when she bit before still lingered in her head. She knew he'd have to go through nearly three days of it before the process was complete and even after all that he could still die. The last thing she wanted to do is make his death an agonizing one.

"Carlisle?" she said just before the doctor exited.

"Yes Tara?" he stopped and turned.

"Do you think I'm making the right decision?"

He sighed and stepped back over to her putting his hand on her shoulder. "I can't make that choice for you. You just have to do what your heart tells you."

She nodded again. "No matter what happens though…." Her voice began to fade until it was almost a whisper. "I'll have to watch him die."

She put her face in her hands. When Carlisle heard the dull sobs he wrapped his arm around her shoulders to comfort her. "Either way, he has a chance for a second life," he assured her. Carlisle's faith came into play with every situation. It always gave him hope.

Her lips quivered and she bit down to make it stop. Carlisle seemed so much like a father figure to her. She was so very thankful the Cullens came into her life and pulled her out of her world of loneliness and isolation. She felt some guilt for all the burdens she'd placed on his family and friends ever since the day she arrived though.

"Do you want me to leave you two alone?" Carlisle asked.

"No. Actually I'd prefer you'd stay. Please?"

"Of course…whatever you need of me," he said soothingly.

Carlisle kissed her on the head and stepped back to give her some room and a bit more privacy.

She scooted closer to Seth's body and caressed his face. Then she let her hand travel down his neck to his shoulder till it came in contact with the previous scar he had where she bit him once before. Her fingertips circled the oval pattern on his skin. It was the coolest part of his entire body. Not wanting to give him a second scar, she thought it best to bite the same spot. It was also closest to his heart, in hopes the venom would work faster.

She slowly leaned in, pausing just before her lips met his skin. The heat from his body rose up and warmed her face. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I never wanted it to end this way, but I can't bear the thought of never seeing your face again." Then she sunk her razor sharp teeth into his skin. The venom expelled from her mouth quickly spreading into Seth's blood stream.

Tara waited for a reaction. Usually the pain was instantaneous once the poisonous toxin entered the body but Seth remained motionless still. She bit down even harder releasing more into his system. Then she licked the wound, sealing it with venom to stop the bleeding and sat back, hoping for a sign but received none. He didn't move.

"Please…please come back," she whispered while caressing his cheek.

"Perhaps it's the morphine." Carlisle told her. "Bella didn't respond at all during her entire transformation. We had no idea until she started healing."

"Would you please ask Edward to come in?" she requested.

Before Carlisle could leave the room to get him, Edward entered from the hall. "Uh, sorry… I've been listening," he admitted. He walked over and stood next to Tara. She didn't take her eyes off Seth.

Edward looked him over noticing the fresh bite mark on his shoulder.

"Do you hear him? Is he in pain?" she asked, hoping he was in there somewhere.

Edward listened intently for any spark, any sound at all from him. "I'm sorry. I don't hear anything right now." He said sadly. "But don't give up hope." Edward put his hand on her shoulder, trying to give her a shred of reassurance. He really had no idea at this point however.

His words didn't comfort her though and she worried that it might be too late.

"Tara, Bella was near death when I turned her and so much worse than this physically. The venom _saved_ her. There's always hope." Edward said, trying again to give her confidence.

Carlisle suggested she give it some time. Nothing more could be done except to just watch his progress.

She sat with him alone for a long while, watching his every movement, listening to his heart beating_. It hadn't stopped at least_, she thought.

An hour passed by and still nothing. Edward returned to check on them but Seth's mind was still silent. So as the night went on, Tara became more anxious, getting up several times, pacing the room, watching the rain outside the large window. Thunder shook the glass as it rolled through the clouds. It couldn't have been more of a drearier setting.

Some of the others peeked in to check on them during the evening, offering Tara encouragement and support. Bella came in and sat with Seth for a while, talking to him and making jokes. She rambled on about some stories of Jacob and some of the stupid thing he would do to cheer her up the summer they all that time together. She hoped she would spark an emotion in him, even if it was a moan. Anything to give an indication he could hear her. Then Bella noticed the footsteps of someone coming. It was Edward. He was returning from his phone call to Jacob to update him on Seth's condition and to also check on his daughter. She was doing fine but sleeping a great deal lately and Jacob didn't like being away from her for long periods. Though he needed to care for her and the business, he still promised to stop by and check on his friend as soon as he was able. Edward also promised to keep him closely informed of his condition.

"How's the patient?" he asked Bella as he approached. She looked up at his face as he put his arm around her. Even in moments of sadness or stress he was beautiful to her. She never tired of seeing his face. She tried to smile but it he could tell it was a forced smile. Her eyes didn't light up like when she was happy.

"No change," she sighed.

Edward listened, hoping to hear even a mental cry from him. Anything that gave the indication Seth felt pain. He studied his friend's face closely. Something seemed off. Edward didn't pick up on it at first but then he realized Seth's color was all wrong - he was in fact…paler.

"Um…you sure?" Edward said to his wife making her take another look. At first he thought Seth's condition was worsening but he noticed something else; his wounds were actually healing. The bite mark on Seth shoulder was nothing but a scar now. It matched the one Bella had on her wrist. The cuts and bruises on his body were fading and barely noticeable. The purple skin on his ribs faded to a more blanched hue.

Bella gasped when she looked at Seth. She had just looked at him only seconds ago and noticed no difference, now his completion was taking a whole new appearance. Tara's mind was far away she blankly stared out the window, not even listening to what was going on behind her.

"Tara!" Bella called out to get her attention. "Look at his skin!" She finally snapped out of her trance and rushed to the bed. Her eyes widened as she witnessed what was happening and she reached out to feel his chest. "It's cooler!"

"He's healing." Bella said cheerfully.

Edward ran and got Carlisle. He was delighted to see the improvement, feeling more hopeful now. "This looks good. I think your plan might've worked."

"But why is he still so quiet?" Tara asked.

"I don't know." His head shook. "My only guess is it's the morphine in his system." The doctor checked his pupils again but they were non-existent. The warm brown eyes he once had before were black now. He knew that meant the change was really happening, but he had no way of knowing what was going on in Seth's brain. He had to have hope that the venom would do more than just heal his body - he needed for Seth to show signs that his soul was still in there somewhere too.

Bella remembered her transformation and cringed, worrying he might be in pain but couldn't move or scream or do anything to let them know. She wondered if he could feel what was happening to him and prayed he wasn't in agony right now. "Should we remove the respirator?" she wondered.

"His heart sounds stronger now. I think it would be a god idea to test it," Carlisle replied.

The machine hissed when he turned it off, pushing the last rush of air into his lungs.

The room was silent as they waited and listened to the monitor. His heart continued to beat still. A few more minutes passed before Carlisle removed the tape and pulled the tube out.

Tara pushed his chin up, closing his mouth and caressed his face. She hoped for some kind of response but there was still none. She leaned down and kissed his forehead. It was so much cooler than she was used to. "I love you," she whispered.

They watched and waited for a several more hours. Tara stayed by his side the entire time watching as skin completely transformed. It was much smoother now, completely flawless. She never thought he could have looked more perfect than he did before but now he appeared so much more brilliant, superlative – _exquisite,_ she thought.

Tara ran her finger tips up and down his arm. It felt so different. The fiery sensation she remembered was replaced with new cooler surface, closer to her temperature. His body was like a finely polished stone. His warm bronze complexion had lightened several shades, though not as ghostly as the Cullen's but clearly paler than he before.

While her hand traveled back and forth she suddenly felt a tremor underneath her fingertips. His hand moved. She focused on it closely to see if she was imagining things but it moved again. She took Seth's hand in hers and held it and felt it start to tremble. The shaking movement traveled up his arm until it reached the center of his body and then his legs began to shake as well. Edward was the first to realize what was happening. "He's gaining consciousness!"

Carlisle quickly moved in to get a closer look.

Seth body started to vibrate even more violently and Tara stood up still holding his hand. "Seth! Seth Can you hear me?"

Edward realized he was starting to feel everything now. His body was reacting to the pain of the venom and he suddenly arched his back as every muscle in his body spasmed.

Tara let go of him. She watched helplessly as he thrashed on the table, knowing there was nothing she could do to help him. His hands balled into fists and his teeth clenched together tightly. A fierce growl came deep from his belly until he finally he sucked in a deep breath and then bellowed loudly. He had no idea where he was or what was happening. Finally his blood red eyes opened for the first time and he screamed so loud the others in the house came running to the room. Seth hands clenched the side rails, crushing the metal as he kicked and flailed. The pain was pure torture. The last memory he had was falling into a canyon, only remembered the crunching sound when he hit the rocks and then a sudden burst of pain until his body felt like it exploded. Seth feared he was dying.

He gasped for air. "I…I can't breathe!" he finally spoke.

Edward heard every painful thing going through his head and began explaining what was happening, thought it was quite obvious.

"His lungs can't expand anymore - all of his organs are shutting down now."

Rosalie who watched silently from the behind them, suddenly spoke. "Uh, yeah we know all that Edward, thanks for the re-cap," she said sarcastically.

Edward turned and scowled. He realized he'd said too much in front of Tara though. She felt a horrible sense of remorse now as she watched him wreath in pain

Seth's heart beat sped up so fast he thought it was going to break out of his chest. _I'm dying!_ he screamed in his head

"It's almost over Seth," Edward told him.

"_No!"_ he thought. He wasn't ready to die. As his heart sped up even faster he jolted and threw his body onto the floor. Tara knelt down next to him wanting to help, willing to do anything to stop the pain but she knew she couldn't.

When his heart finally came to a complete stop, he curled into a ball on the floor clawing the tile with his fingers nails. The ceramic crumbled under his fingertips. They all realized the change was nearly complete now. Then when his screams finally silenced, his body became idol. Still unsure of what was happening to him, he lay motionless on the floor trying to determine if he was dead or alive.

"Seth," Edward broke the silence, "Can you hear me?"

"Of course he can! He could hear you if you were standing in the middle of town dummy!" Rosalie interrupted.

"You're not _helping_ Rose! He's confused."

"_Tara"_ he finally whispered.

She reached for his arm "I'm right here Seth." Her gentle voice soothed him and he exhaled, relaxing the tensed muscles. He expected to feel her cool hand when she touched him but it felt strange when her fingertips rested on his skin. He slid his hand out and touched the top of hers. He recognized the feel of her smooth skin under his but something was very different.

"Your hand is warm," he said.

"No… yours is cold…like mine," she replied.

He exhaled and then sucked in a breath tensing up again.

"Am I… _dead_?" he asked, scared to open his eyes.

"No, you're not dead … well, not exactly."

Seth's eye popped open and took focus on the first thing in front of them. It was his hand. Something didn't look quite right about it however. Its paleness made him wonder if he'd lost a great deal of blood. He wiggled his finger just to make sure it was in fact his. Then he noticed something else; every hair, every pour, every line stood out so perfectly defined. He counted each one instantly. Another hand reached out to touch his face and he grabbed it. Seth's head lifted as his eyes followed the arm right up to the face connected to it. It was Tara's. He almost didn't recognize her. Her features were so unbelievably radiant and breath-taking.

"Are you an angel?" he asked.

She smiled a little. "No sweetie, it's just me," she said.

He looked at her again blinking several times trying to adjust. He noted every strand of hair on her head, instantly counting them. Then he counted her eyelashes and focused on every feature on her body. He'd looked at her so many times before but never saw anything so clearly.

He blinked again. "Something's wrong with my eyes."

"There's nothing wrong with them Seth, you're just not used to them." Carlisle answered.

"What?" He looked around the room now confused. Everyone came into view but it was like seeing them all for the first time. Everything looked so perfectly clear, so sharp, so vivid. Colors and detail he'd never noticed before. Finally, he recognized where he was.

"I don't understand. Why am I in your house?" he asked. "What's going on?"

"We had you moved from the hospital. They agreed to release you to your family so we could take you off the life support," he replied.

Seth was still confused. "Remove the …..? But if I'm _not_ dead...what am I?" he said and then turned his eyes toward Tara.

"Plan A." she replied.

Then it clicked. He gasped and snapped up as fast as lightening.

"Easy Seth!" Edward said. "You have to adjust to your new body."

"My…my new _body_?" he gasped and his eyes widened. He quickly spotted a mirror on the wall and decided to see for himself.

"Wait!" Tara shouted, but it was too late. The second his mind processed the thought his legs were already moving and he shot across the room, crashing into the table that stood just below the mirror which cracked in half.

"Damn, Esme just got that off ebay too," Emmett chuckle under his breath.

"You've got new legs. You'll destroy the house if you're not careful." Edward warned.

Seth ignored him though and just stared at the reflection in the mirror. His crimson eyes gazing back at him. His hand traveled down his chest, examining his new body.

Tara zipped to his side. "Seth, I'm so sorry….I thought you wanted… you said….I…I .." she pleaded, unable to get the words out. She feared this was not what he wanted now.

Seth turned to face her, hearing the despair and guilt in her voice. He lost his train of thought, becoming distracted by her beauty. She looked so lovely to him and he reached out gently to touch her cheek. "You're absolutely _so_… _beautiful,_" he said staring deeply into her eyes. She expected anger, panic, disgust, even profanity to come from his from his mouth, anything but compliment. It surprised her. Everyone else smiled with relief.

"But, aren't you mad at me?" she asked keeping her eyes on his.

"I dunno what I am. There were hundred different emotions running though my head until I looked at you…now all I can think is how incredibly stunning you are. I mean I thought that before but now I can see…_everything_. You're total perfection."

She exhaled a smile and touched her hand to his. If she could cry, she would have.

"Do you remember what happened to you Seth?" Carlisle asked.

Seth tried to recall his last memory. "I remember hearing Jacob screaming my name…and then falling. Then there was nothing but darkness and …pain." He paused. "I don't recall anything after that." He paused again, trying to remember. "Why was I falling?" he asked, still unsure.

"You were chasing a vampire," Edward said. He could clearly see Seth's human memories were a blur to him.

Just then he remembered Derek's face. It was the last thing he saw before he fell. If his blood could boil, it would have at that moment.

Edward detected his anger and worried what he might do.

"Calm yourself Seth, you could really hurt someone right now," he warned.

Normally that amount of anger would trigger his phasing ability but it was gone. He no longer sensed that part of him. He only felt a rage swelling inside as he thought about the vampire that did this to him but as soon as Tara touched his hand he snapped out of it and the fury slipped away.

"So…I really did die then." he said looking for an explanation.

"You were being kept alive by machines. There was no brain activity. Without the respirator, your body couldn't sustain itself. Technically Seth, You weren't even human at that point," Carlisle told him. "Your mother wanted to take you off life support at first and let you go. I would have been forced to had Tara not told us you both got married recently. That changed things."

Alice suddenly perked up "Married?...You guys are already _married_?" she frowned.

"_Wow!_ I wish I saw the look on their faces when Tara pulled out _that_ trump card!" Emmett chuckled.

Seth looked around the room. "My mother?" Seth said wondering where she was, or if she even knew.

"She's safe at home. We couldn't allow her to be here. It's too dangerous."

"Was she against it?" he asked looking at his reflection in the mirror again.

"At first… but once Tara and Bella spoke with her, she changed her mind. She couldn't stand through thought of losing her only son."

He nodded.

"Now you understand what we face when put in the same situation…the desperation…the desire to do anything to save the ones you love," Edward said.

"I understand." He agreed. "Well what about Leah?" he wondered.

Edward's expression hardened. "She may be a bit of a problem for us. She wasn't happy about the transformation and she's planning to convince the pack to destroy Tara if she went through with it. Not knowing if you'd survive that transformation, they were waiting to know the outcome. You progressed quicker than we expected."

"Really? How long?"

"Less than two days." Carlisle answered.

"So…what's that mean?"

"We don't know. But we are very curious," he grinned. "It's a first," he added.

"They can't hurt Tara though, she's my imprint." Seth reached out and took her hand in his.

"Well, Leah feels that rule doesn't apply if you're dead. It doesn't matter to her that it was your decision, only that you were bitten. She's seems willing to fight regardless" He paused for a moment before asking. "This _was _your decision, correct?" Carlisle said just to be sure.

Tara's eyes panned up, starring Seth in the face. As he gazed back, suddenly the memory of their conversation returned to him. "_Yes_, I gave Tara permission to turn me we were ever to be separated by death. It was my alternative to her…taking her own life as well." He touched her face.

Carlisle nodded. "I see. Well, in all honesty, though I'm not happy about your accident, I _am_ glad that I didn't have to lose two family members today." he admitted.

"So am I." Esme smiled and Seth smiled back.

"That _was_ the plan," he said.

"Yeah, well I have to say… you're _quite_ an improvement," Alice said. "_Much_ easier on the eyes." she winked.

Everyone chuckled at the comment. Rosalie added one more. "Ugh, and our noses!"

Suddenly, Seth's thoughts became distracted when he took in a breath and the blaze in his throat diverted him.

"What…what _is_ that?" He wondered, picking up a scent at least mile away that made his mouth and throat very hot all of the sudden. But it smelled _good_.

"_That_…is food," Edward answered sensing Seth's uncomfortable state but before he could yell "Stop" Seth was already on the move.

Everyone tried to grab him before he could get out of the house but he was incredibly fast_. _Too fast. Fortunately for them he paused in the driveway, staring out at the forest, taking in his new surroundings. Though everything looked familiar, was still all different somehow.

When Tara caught up to him she instantly leaped on his back wrapping her arms around him to try and keep him from moving further. Without hesitation, Seth instantly grabbed her arm and threw her to the ground onto her back he leaped on top of her. She sucked in a breath. Suddenly he realized what he did and jumped off. He pulled her close and held her. "Tara! I'm sorry. I'm _so_ sorry, did I hurt you."

"Ow!…Yes! Geeze, take it easy!" She shoved him back and then rubbed her head still feeling the sting from the impact.

He stroked her head running his hands through the soft strands of hair over the spot that hit the pavement. "I don't know why I did that. I didn't mean to hurt you."

She shook it off and then smiled. "I know. Your instincts are kicking in. I shouldn't have jumped on you like that. I just didn't want you to run away. You could hurt someone and you wouldn't think twice before doing it."

Seth suddenly felt horrible, realizing he was dangerous. "Please, don't let me do that." "We won't," Edward said, realizing they needed to be very careful with him. He didn't think they would be as lucky with him as he was with Bella.

Seth lifted his nose to the air again. He was thirsty - _very_ thirsty.

"He needs to hunt right away. I suggest we all go together so we can keep an eye on him if he tries to take off," Carlisle said.

"Do you want me to show you how to hunt?" Tara asked.

Seth had already seen Tara hunt dozens of times. He'd seen how it was done, but he never thought he'd be hunting animals for blood one day. "Okay… let's do this. I have to learn who at some point, right?

"Don't worry. It's no big deal - everything that seemed completely disturbing about drinking blood before…will all seem perfectly natural to you. You won't even hesitate. Trust me," Bella said.

Seth nodded with a smile.

"We'll have to break you into those new legs of yours. Just stay close to me. Concentrate on not running off. Understand?" Tara ordered.

He nodded. "I'll try my best." he was eager to hunt but even more eager to run now tat he knew he's be able to run as fast as Tara and on only two legs. Something he could never do before in human form.

They all quickly dashed into the forest. Seth's legs felt almost weightless. Each foot barely touched the ground before the other one lifted and moved. It was like flying at a low altitude he thought. Suddenly Tara stopped and grabbed Seth hand. He came to quick halt obeying his new teacher. "Do you smell that?" she asked him.

He nodded. "Elk." he said, remembering the scent of it from many times before as a wolf. The scent of its blood teased his pallet.

Tara nodded and pointed at the trees in front of them. About a hundred meters ahead a large buck lifted its head to sniff the air sensing a predator. Before Tara could instruct him further, Seth bolted for the animal. "Wait!" she said but it was too late. He was much too fast.

The animal barely had time to turn its body before he was on top of it and sunk his teeth into the animal's hide.

Within seconds, Tara and the others caught up to him. "Hmmm, it certainly looks like he's got this part all figured out," Jasper chuckled.

Tara shook her head and exhaled deeply "You gotta stop taking off on us Seth" she scolded.

When he finished his meal he dropped the animal and leaped up. "Uh…sorry. I'm new at this," he said grinning at Tara like a guilty kid who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Yes. We know." She chuckled wiping the blood off his chin. Not that you could tell after witnessing that though."

"Is that bad?" he asked?

"No, it's really good actually. You're a natural. But we have to be really careful. You didn't even stop to think about your prey once you targeted it."

"Yeah, that's bad," he frowned lowering his eyes with guilt.

"No worries Seth, we'll help you until you learn on your own to control yourself," Jasper assured him with a small pat on the shoulder.

"Bella?" he turned to his friend. "How did you do it so quickly? How did you learn to restrain yourself?" he asked knowing she had almost no problem transitioning into her new lifestyle.

"I'm not really sure," she replied. "I expected to be this monster and hunt anything and everything that got in my way. I didn't feel that way though. I kept thinking about Edward and Renesmee and how much I needed to be stronger than the hunger. I didn't _want_ to kill. I just kept telling myself that and it worked. The thought of hurting the ones I loved was a far stronger than any desire I had to kill."

"Really? That's it?"

"That's it for _me_ anyway. I'm sure it's easier said than done though."

Edward smiled proudly. "Not to brag about my wife, but she _is_ rather unique. It's rare that this could happen. I'm not saying it's impossible, I'm just saying she's sort of one of a kind.

"Well, Seth is a one of a kind too," Jasper added.

"He is?" Alice asked.

Seth's eye brows rose. "I am?"

"Yes…you're a hybrid. None of your kind has ever been turned before."

"Oh ...right."

As Seth pondered the thought, Edward suddenly remembered something. "Twenty-four chromosomes," he said wondering what this would have done to his count now.

Carlisle quickly picked up on what he was getting at. "I should run a test on you." he said. "I'm even _more_ curious now."

_Great. I graduated from dog to lab rat_. Seth thought.

Edward chuckled being the only one who could hear Seth's sarcasm. Seth understood the chromosome counts because he'd been linked to Jacob at the time Carlisle explained it to him. Humans have twenty three chromosomes, shape shifters, twenty four and vampires, twenty five. So he wondered now what this transformation did to him

"I can't phase though. I don't even feel that part of me anymore. My body can't change," he said sadly. It was a part of him that he would miss.

"True, but you may have _gained_ something in trade. A new gift of some sort…I wonder," he said curiously.

"Well, I can't read minds, or see the future, or disappear. So how _do_ you know if you've gained some sort of gift?"

"With some gifts, it's immediate. With others, sometimes it takes an emotion like anger to draw it out,"

"Well then…" He grinned sort of devilishly. "Don't make me angry…you won't _like_ me when I'm angry," he said quoting a Hulk movie he recently watched.

Emmett's laugh echoed in the woods. He was the only one who enjoyed those kinds of movies and the only one who got the humor in his quote. The others just looked at him blankly like he spoke in gibberish.

Seth just rolled his eyes. "Never mind," he shook his head. He wondered how so many of them could be around for hundreds of years and not have watched every movie on the planet by now. Superheroes were a bit far from their tastes however.

Edward was about to speak again and answer some of Seth's mental questions, but before he could get the first word out he realized they weren't alone - they were surrounded.

The giant wolves stood in the shadows of the forest watching. They'd arrive only seconds ago, wanting to see if it was true. As soon as they spotted Seth's red eyes, they knew. Leah whimpered. The other wolves stood in disbelief of their own eyes communicating amongst themselves.

_"Holy crow dude! Look at Seth!"  
_

_"Wow, he's really a vamp now!" _

_"Yeah, look at his eyes!" _

_"Ugh bet he stinks like em too!"_

Jacob's eyes widened when he saw his friend for the first time. He had difficulty wrapping his head around the situation and he wanted to see him up close. He could only hope that Seth's transformation was much like Bella's but he wasn't about to let his guard down.

_"He's my responsibility; I'm going to handle this... stay here_." Jacob ordered, and then cautiously proceeded towards him.

"_I'm coming too!"_ Leah started to follow but Jacob turned and snapped around. "_No they'll see it as a threat. I'm going alone. STAY HERE. That's an order Leah_."

She whimpered.

Seth watched carefully as his friend approached. It seemed almost like Jacob moved in slow motion as he walked directly towards him. Before Jacob even managed to get close Seth studied ever inch of the wolf's body and frame, even counting every hair on his massive body. He waited patiently and completely still, watching and wondering what his friends planned to do. He didn't want to fight but he wasn't about to let them hurt Tara, or the Cullens.

When they finally stood face to face, Jacob leaned in, putting his nuzzle very close to Seth staring straight down at him. Jacob's snout exhaled a warm breath of air on Seth's head. They stared at each other harshly at first until Seth's sensitive nose couldn't stand it anymore. "Whew, man! You totally stink Jake!" he complained and put his hand over his mouth and nose.

Jacob let out a small wolfy laugh. He knew that was something the _old_ Seth would say.

Edward let out a chuckle upon hearing Jacob's response. "The dog says you're much worse," he translated.

Suddenly Tara stepped around from behind her husband and spoke up. "So what's the deal Jake? Are you here for business or pleasure?"

Jacob turned to the vampire staring her down.

She gestured a nod at the pack behind him. "You bring them here to kill me?" she asked bluntly.

Seth quickly glared at the pack wondering if that was their next move.

"He says he doesn't want it to come to that," Edward told them.

"Neither do I. It doesn't have to be like that. We can still be friends. I'm still ime/i." Seth said loudly for all of them to hear.

Leah growled. Then Jacob just huffed and quickly turned, running back into the forest to leave. Seth felt betrayed that his best friend could simply just turn his back on him.

"Wait…" Edward said holding up a hand in gesture. Within a few seconds, Jacob appeared again but no longer as the wolf…he was human. He only left momentarily so he could dress.

"He's coming back. He thought it would be better face to face." Edward explained.

As Jacob appeared and headed back in Seth's direction, now in human form, the wolves became agitated, whimpering and growling. He turned to them and held up a hand. "No. I can handle this," he ordered and then proceeded to confront Seth, man to man.

At first he just stared at Seth, saying nothing. Then he circled him, giving him a good once over. Seth's head turned with Jacob, watching him as he went around behind his back and then stood right back in front of him again. Seth gave him an odd look but then Jacob finally spoke. "Wow, dude this is just…creepy."

Seth let out a tiny chuckle.

"You're like… a tall...ugly...In-jun...albino." Jacob teased.

Seth burst into laughter "Thanks. I don't think I'm that pale though."

He chuckled. "Okay, maybe not. But you sure are ugly." he jested again.

Seth laughed. He was glad Jacob was in a teasing mood at least. It was a good sign.

Jacob shook his head. "Well, I must admit, you sure do know how to break all the rules."

"Yeah well …I just figured, why stop at just one? I'm on a roll now." Seth grinned.

"Ha! I don't think there are too many more left you could break!"

"I guess not…but we can still be friends," he said with hope in his voice. "And business partners, right?"

"Just so long as you don't try and eat the customers," Jacob winked and they both laughed..

Meanwhile the pack still observed from a distance in total confusion as to what was happening.

"_Uhhh, what's going on Sam? Is Jake gonna take out the blood sucker or what"? _Quil asked.

"_I really don't know." _Sam replied

"_Why's he being all chummy? I just knew he'd back out now that he's married to a vamp. Coward!" _

_"Shut it Embry." _Quil said.

_"No! We're not leaving her with her still alive!" _Leah demanded_._

"_Well you can't get to her. Seth won't let you. Are you planning to kill your own brother?"_

"_No, just her…unless he gets in my way"._

They all gasped_. _"_Damn, that's cold." _Quil thought_._

As Seth and Jake continued to make jokes, Rosalie starting getting annoyed by the amiable banter. "Ugh, geeze! Could you both just kiss and get it over with? My stomach is turning over here."

Jacob turned and without missing a beat threw out one of his jokes. "Hey Rose, know what the difference between a smart blonde and a UFO is?"

Her eyes narrowed as she waited for the inevitable punch line.

"There's been actual _sightings _of UFOs," he finished.

She hissed and started to take a step towards Jacob in a threatening advance. Emmett grabbed her arm to hold her back but it was too late, Leah was already charging towards them.

"Leah!" Sam and the others all shouted in their heads in unison. She ignored them however. Before she could reach Tara, Seth instantly leaped in front of his wife to protect her.

"Leah! I said stay back!" Jacob yelled. The wolf growled and snarled at them before letting out a fierce bark.

"_Get out of my way Seth_," she ordered.

"No, Leah. Don't do this! Don't make me choose!" he said fiercely. He read her body language and knew exactly what she wanted.

"_That vamp broke the treaty! She destroyed my brother and now I'm going to destroy her_!"

"Seth gave her full permission. He wanted it." Edward told her.

_"I don't care! It doesn't make a difference! He's dead to me now."_

The wolves all gasped at her words. Edward's face became extremely hardened and cold. Seth and the others could tell whatever she was thinking, it was not good. "I won't let you hurt my wife!" Seth warned her. "It's my life. Let me live it MY way, okay?" Though he meant it he truly hoped he would not have to choose between his wife and his sister. "Please Leah…I love you…I don't wanna fight you," he pleaded with her more softly.

Leah looked at the two of them huddled together. His red eyes stared right through her soul and it sickened her. "_No! No! No!_ _Look at you! You're one of them! You're a monster! You're not even one of us anymore! She killed you!" _She growled low and deep.

Edward spoke up. "Leah, Tara _didn't _kill him. He was dead already. We were taking him off life support. He wouldn't even be standing here if she didn't turn him."

"_Well I won't accept it! She's not gonna get away with this!" _She had Tara in her sights and moved forward.

"Leah, don't!" Seth ordered.

She growled and snapped at him but the moment Seth reached out to grab her, Leah bit his arm, hard. He didn't even notice though, because it didn't even leave a mark. Not even a scratch.

_Quil gasped. "Did you see that Sam? She bit him and it didn't penetrate the skin. It didn't do anything, _he said

"_Yes…I saw," _Sam replied.

"_What's that mean? He's unstoppable?"_

"_I don't know what it means, but I think we should get Leah outta there before she really gets hurt." _Sam's suggested_._

But before they could reach them Seth already retaliated. Leah had snapped at him again and this time he bit her. His decision was completely an instinct reaction without thinking about it and the others didn't have time to react to his immense speed. She let out a loud bellow in pain and he let go immediately realizing what he'd done.

"_NO!_ _Oh God no_!" he thought. Her blood dripped from his teeth. He never wanted to hurt her.

They all quickly ran to Leah's side. Her howls turned to screams as she crumpled to the ground and phased back to human form.

"No!" She cried

"Leah, I'm sorry, please, I'm so sorry!" Seth pleaded.

The wolves prepared to attack but Quil had a thought that stopped them quickly. "_Wait!" _They all paused to hear him out. "_If Leah's bite didn't even injure him, ours won't either…what if he bites us too?"_

Sam debated the thought_. "Stand down." _He ordered not wanting to risk it.

While Leah sat crying in pain, Edward listened carefully to her thoughts. She was hurting, but not as he expected her to. He tried to get a closer look but Jacob yelled at him to stay back. "I just want to help. Let me examine her. No one's going to hurt her." He explained.

"No! Keep them away!" she growled.

Edward quickly turned to Carlisle and informed him of what he was thinking. "Leah, can you describe what you feel?" the doctor asked.

"My arm, it's killing me!" she said through her tears.

"Does it burn?" he asked again.

Leah thought for a moment. She shook her head gripping her arm. Edward listened to her thoughts again trying to sense what she felt. She was hurting but clearly not injected with any venom. The vampires all exchanged glances.

"What is it?" Jacob asked.

"I don't think Seth is venomous," he said.

"You mean…she won't turn?" Seth asked.

"No, she can't. Not without venom."

He was relieved though he still felt horrible about what he'd done.

"Leah, why don't you allow me to take you to my home where I can treat your wound," Carlisle suggested.

"No! I'm not going anywhere _near_ your place!" She leaned away from him. The doctor frowned.

"Yeah I don't think that such a hot idea Carlisle." Jacob added.

He let out a sigh. "Alright then, let me treat you at yours. Your arm is broken, you need treatment right away." The doctor said.

Leah started to protest but Jacob ordered her to agreed, knowing her stubbornness would only worsen her condition. She had to obey.

Bella took off her flannel leaving just her grey tank on and covered Leah's body with it. Carlisle carefully picked her up and then carried her back to the reservation, escorted by the pack. Seth's watched grimly as they left with his sister, disappearing into the trees. The anguish built up inside him. He wanted to cry but no tears would come. Tara could see it in his face that he was hurting. She put her hand on his chest. He was breathing heavily trying not to burst and scream his head off. "I need to get out of here. Please take me back," he said in a whisper.

She nodded and then they all headed back, trying to keep up with him.


	24. Chapter 24

**Changes**

Seth barely spoke when they returned to the house. He headed straight to the one room he was most familiar with there - the kitchen. He stood there just staring at it for a long while. The smells were not the same. The room gave him no meaning anymore. He walked over to the refrigerator, opened the door and was hit with several foul odors. He closed it quickly. Then he sat down on one of the bar stools and perched perfectly still, staring blankly out the window.

Tara followed him in and sat down next to him. "Do you want to be alone?" she asked.

He shook his head still staring out the window. "Not really. I just need to think about some things."

She gave him all the time he needed and just sat there, watching him. After about an hour, he finally spoke again. "So, I suppose _this _my new home now?" he said still staring out the window, motionless.

"Just for a little while, until you're ready to handle yourself. It's for the best."

Seth's pitiful expression troubled her and she sighed. "Is there anything I can do to get that look off your face?"

"What look is that?" His one was very flat.

"The one that says you regret everything about ever meeting me."

His eyes quickly snapped in her direction. "I don't regret _anything_."

"Well you _should_." She frowned.

He leaned closer to her and spoke calm but assertive. "I'm _not_ going to have this conversation with you. It's _not_ how I feel. End of story."

"Do you regret…._this_?" She touched his scar with her finger, looking right at his eyes. He squeezed them shut and exhaled realizing she wasn't going to let the subject die. When he opened them, he scooted closer to her and reached around her neck unclasping the necklace she wore. He slid the ring off the chain and quickly put her locket back around her neck. Then he took her left hand and in his and slid the wedding ring on her finger. She looked up at him.

Before she could say anything he started reciting his wedding vows to her. "I will cherish our union and love you more each day than I did the day before. I will trust you and respect you, laugh with you and cry with you, loving you faithfully through good times and bad, regardless of the obstacles we may face together. I give you my hand, my heart, and my love for as long as we both shall live." He never forgot even one word.

"If I could only keep _one _memory of my whole human life, I'd keep the memory of the day you became my wife." He reached out and touched her face. "I meant every word when I said it the first time and I always keep my promises. Don't ever doubt that."

Tara wanted to cry, to hold him and to make love to him, all at the same time. She decided on a kiss and then pressed he lips to his. It was the first time she'd kissed him as a vampire. She missed the warmth but she quickly realized that certain restrictions were no longer needed now. Her lips now the same temperature as his, same feel to them but also something new. His senses were heightened. The kiss was nothing like he remembered before; not only more carnal and erotic but also more stimulating. He felt a burst of energy that electrified him; another burning sensation that tingled every nerve ending in his body. Tara felt it too. Her kiss felt less controlled, less careful and almost obscene.

Within seconds he lost control and slammed her body hard into the wall, lifting up off the ground and thrusting his hips at her. Everything on the wall came crashing to the floor and her body cracked the wall where it made impact. She gasped completely stunned. As soon as he realized what he'd just done. He gently put her down. She saw the remorse in his face. "You don't have to say it." she chuckled.

"I think I'm going to be apologizing _a lot_."

"Yeah well, don't worry. I'm used to it," she patted his cheek.

"Are you alright then?" he asked. She nodded and then he softly kissed her forehead.

Edward was already on the way to the kitchen the second he picked up on Seth's thoughts. As he dashed into the room, the commotion also alerted Emmett and Jasper who followed closely behind. "Tara!" he gasped and lunged for Seth. She stopped him just before he could grab him but Seth reacted very quickly to the threat and growled at his opponent. Edward backed down realizing Tara was not in danger as he had thought. "Seth…take it easy. I just thought you were gonna hurt her," he said.

Seth caught himself and stopped before he attacked. With a large exhale he stepped back and leaned against the wall feeling frustrated.

"Is it always like this with new borns?" he asked.

Edward chuckled. "Usually worse. You're handling yourself quite well I must say."

He looked at Edward and then over at the others who were nodding in agreement. "Wow really?"

"Yes you're ability to reason with yourself is impressive. The fact that you're even this calm is extraordinary. You certainly are unique but you have a tendency be a little impulsive, all normal of course. We'll just have to keep an eye on you until you've gained better control of your actions."

Seth nodded. Then he noticed a Carlisle just returned to the house and found them in the kitchen. "How's Leah?" he wondered.

"She's fine. I set her arm. She'll heal well." The doctor reported.

"Is she… still upset with me?"

"She wouldn't speak. She didn't even make a sound when I set her arm. I know it had to hurt but she never made a peep."

"Oh…she's upset for sure." Seth's eyes panned down.

"Give her time. She _does_ love you Seth and I'm sure she'll eventually forgive you."

He nodded. "Hope so."

"So… how are _you_ feeling?" Carlisle asked changing the subject.

"Hmm well, let's see…I sat in your kitchen for about an hour without taking a breath, I blinked one time since I woke up about four hours ago, the smell of pizza repulsed me and I counted exactly four hundred and seventy six floor tiles when I walked in the room. I feel pretty strange."

"Normal." Carlisle chuckled. "So then... how about we run some tests?" he asked.

**Mr. and Mrs. Black**

Jacob finally calmed Leah down enough so he could return home and not worry about her heading to the Cullen's to start trouble. He hoped Renesmee would be awake when he got home so he could tell her all about Seth. He made a stop at Sam's place on his way back to get some blueberry muffins Emily made for her.

Their home was a small house they owned, between the Reservation and the Cullen's. Edward had the place built for them while they were on their honeymoon. He and Bella surprised them just before the wedding allowing them to decide on the location and some of the custom amenities.

When Jacob entered, he set the muffins on the kitchen table and snuck into the bedroom quietly in case she was still sleeping. She wasn't in the bed however. It was all made and the room looked spotlessly clean. "_She's probably nesting again_." he thought.

Renesmee sometimes got into cleaning moods that lasted for days but then she'd get very tired and sleep equally as much. It worried him but Carlisle assured him it was quite normal and not to fret. "Ness?" he called out.

"In the bathroom!" she sung.

Jacob smiled and opened the door to see his wife but when he did he got an unexpected surprise. She was standing in front of the mirror combing her hair…or what was left of it. Most of it was on the floor and sink in clipped pieces. Her long curls were all gone and the rest of her hair was above her shoulders and straightened. She was using the flat iron on it as he came in.

"Hi Jake!" she said cheerfully. "Is Seth okay? How'd it go?" she asked concerned.

But Jacob didn't even hear her question. "Ness! What did you do to your hair?"

Her smile turned down instantly. "You don't like it?"

"It's…it's so short."

"You hate it!" she started tearing up.

"Hey wait, no…I don't _hate _it." He came over and touched her cheek. "I hardly recognized you is all. I've never seen you without all your curls. You even straightened it. You look so much more…mature actually."

The tears were still rolling down her cheeks. "I do?"

"Yeah. Absolutely." He pulled her close and held her for a moment but when he let go she still had tears rolling down her face.

"Why are you still crying?"

"Because… I can't help it! I'm such an emotional wreck! I just wanted to cut my hair because I'm so ridiculously hot all the time and I felt I needed a change but now I feel totally unattractive to you and…and ….you haven't even _touched _me in months!"

"What do you mean? I touch you all the time. I'm always affectionate."

"No Jacob, what I mean is, you haven't _touched_ me since our honeymoon."

"_Oh_…" He suddenly realized what she meant "But the babies. I just don't wanna hurt you…or them."

"They won't feel a thing Jake."

"Ness, be serious. You don't know that… what if something goes wrong?"

"But everything's great! Carlisle just told me they both look healthy and everything's normal," she pouted. "….I really miss you,"

"Ness, you have to trust me when I say that I _really _miss you too, but look what happened to you the _last_ time…I'm just afraid something will go wrong."

"So…what then? We're never having sex again? That's fair!" her arms waved in the air.

"No… no I don't mean that." Jacob rubbed his stressed temples.

"Well what _do _you mean? You want to wait _nine_ months? I'm dying Jacob…do you have any idea what this does to a girl's hormones?"

"As a matter of fact…" he started to answer her but she quickly cut him off.

"Jacob! Don't even go there! You really have no idea!" Ness slammed the hot iron down and walked away from him.

"Hey, where you goin'?" his head spun around to follow her.  
"To take a really, really cold shower. I need to cool off!"

He sighed with defeat and torn by his feeling He started to wonder if he'd make it through nine months. After waiting for 4 years till she was old enough to even kiss him and another till he could even marry her, he hated the thought of having to endure that many more months of celibacy, not to mention once they had twin babies it would be even less private time for the both of them. In frustration he stormed out of the room and sat on the bed with his hands in his face. He let out a deep sigh and began thinking. _Nine months!_ It was so long.

He listened to the shower running in the other room for a while. Then finally got up and walked back in the bathroom and stood there watching her through the glass door. She was too busy rinsing her hair to notice he was there. Her eyes were closed and she had her head tilted back in the stream. The water and soap ran down her face and body. She looked so incredibly perfect to him. Jacob took off his shorts and opened the shower door. As soon as he stepped in she turned around.

"What are you doing?" she stared at him with a confused expression.

"I thought I'd join you. Do you mind?"

She shook her head. Her innocent looking brown eyes gleamed when she smiled.

"Want me to wash your back?" he asked.

She nodded and turned around. He poured a small glob of body wash on the sponge and lathered it up before massaging her with it. Renesmee closed her eyes and let out a deep exhale as he made long strokes up and down her back. When he finished he brushed it over her shoulder and let it travel down the front of her body. She leaned onto his chest putting her head back with her eyes still closed. He ran the sponge over her neck and between her breasts and past her navel and then back up again. He rubbed his hand over her belly while kissing her neck and shoulders.

"Mmm, There are other parts of my body that are dirty too you know," she said.

He smiled. "I was saving those for last he whispered."

She let out a deep yearning sigh as he caressed every inch of her body with his fingertips. She turned her body, facing his and slid her fingers around the back of his neck through his hair as she pressed her lips to his. Jacob's hands reached under her bottom and lifted her up so she could wrap her legs around him. He pressed her back to the shower wall and she gasped as he pushed against her with slow gentle thrusts.

"Oh Jake…Jake I love you so much," she moaned in his ear.

"I love you too," he whispered and his mouth was on hers again.

He softly rocked against her body until she was digging her fingers into his back. He moaned from both the aching and the pleasure of it. After the second time Jacob's muscles began to tremble and he gently lowered her till her feet touched the floor. Their hearts raced and they breathed heavily against one another. Jacob turned off the water and wrapped Renesmee in a large towel. After he wrapped one around his waist he carried her to the bed and then helped dry her body, starting with her hair. He gently massaged the towel over her head and then brushed her shoulders with it, working his way further down her body until he reached her thighs and she instantly became aroused again. He was a little glad she only lasted a third time and then finally fell asleep in his arms.

Jacob lay awake only a short while longer after she closed her eyes – watching her, admiring her, and totally adoring her. He ran his fingertips over her shoulders and back until he could barely keep his own eyes open and his hand fell limp over her waist. At that very moment, he felt totally at peace and happier than he could ever remember.

In the morning, Jacob and Renesme both lay side by side in the bed, still naked from the night before. Jacob's eye lid cracked open a bit seeing his wife's angelic face in front of him as she still lay unconsciously next to him. He scooted his body closer to hers trying to reach his arm over and hold her but something was in the way. There was something in the bed with them blocking him from reaching her. He slowly opened both eyes, still a bit groggy and looked at his wife. Suddenly Jacob leaped up out of bed.

"Oh my God! Ness!" he shouted.

Renesmee was startled out of a deep restful sleep when she heard Jacob's loud voice.

Her eye's popped open, barely understanding what he just said. "Why are you yelling?" she moaned.

Jacob stood next to the bed starting at his wife, gripping his hair. "Look! I can't believe this! This can't be happening! Look what I did to you!" He shouted again.

Renesmee lifted her head off the pillow and looked at him funny. Then she realized where he was pointing and looked down at her belly.

"Holy cow!" she shouted when she saw the enormous bulge protruding from her abdomen.

Her stomach was now three times the size it was the night before. Renesmee looked like she had swallowed an oversized basketball.

"I knew it! I _knew_ something bad would happen…and look at you! I actually made you _more_ pregnant!"

"Tsk, don't be ridiculous Jake, like that could really happen," she said.

"Oh really? Then how do you explain this?" he pointed at her stomach.

She rolled her eyes and then scooted off the bed and waddled herself over to a mirror. Her eyes widened as she saw her giant belly in the reflection. She kept turning n all direction to get a good look. Then she noticed something.

"No you didn't Jake, look at my hair! It's longer. I had another growth spurt in my sleep. That's all"

"Growth spurt? You call _that_ a growth spurt? Ness you're huge!"

Renesmee frowned.

"Okay, I didn't mean _you're_ huge…the babies are huge." He tried to rephrase but it wasn't helping.

"That doesn't make me feel any better Jake."

"I'm sorry it's just …Wow! Look at you!"

She looked back in the mirror. Her new cup size really caught her attention. "Oh boy! Did you even notice these? These are rather _obscene,_" she giggled.

Jacob just plopped his butt onto the bed and put his head in his hands. Renesmee came over and sat next to him holding her belly with both hands. "Jake…look at the bright side, at least we don't have to wait so long now."

Jacob turned and looked at her. "How can you possibly remain so positive about everything through all this?"

Renesmee always looked at the brighter side to everything. "Because, I just can. It'll be okay Jake. Trust me." She put her hand to his very distressed looking face.

He leaned over and put one hand on her enormous belly and kissed her forehead when suddenly he felt something kick his hand and he jumped. It was the first time Renesmee felt any movement. They both gasped at the same time. He got down on his knees and put both hands on her belly and the babies kicked again. He started to cry and laugh all at the same time. He kissed the giant globe of a belly and then he leaped up and kissed his wife passionately on the lips.

When they parted she smiled at him. "We should probably go see Carlisle now," she said.


	25. Chapter 25

** Twenty-Six Chromosomes**

Seth sat crouched by a window staring out at the dreary sky as it began to lighten with the sunrise. More rain fell from the sky. The summer had ended and fall approached. Soon the leaves would be changing and dropping from their branches. It was usually his favorite time of year.

Tara left him alone for a short while as she showered and changed. He'd been staring at his phone for the longest while, afraid to pick it up and make the call, aching to know how his mother was doing. He feared the worst; that Leah told her about his attack on her and that she would never speak to him again. Finally, he just gave in and grabbed the phone, punching in the numbers. He listened as it continued to ring until there was a click on the other end followed by a long paused and shallow breathing. A small voice whispered. "Seth?"

He closed his eyes and smiled. It was good to hear her voice. "Mom…"

"Seth! Seth! You're alive!" her voice cried.

"Calm down mom. It's okay… I'm okay."

She started sobbing.

"_Please_ don't cry," he begged feeling like he'd failed her.

She sucked in a deep breath between sobs. "Are …you…?" she couldn't utter the words.

"I'm here. That's all that matters."

She quietly absorbed the information taking deep breaths.

"I miss you," he said breaking the silence.

"I miss you too," she whispered.

"Did…you talk to Leah?" he cringed thinking about what she might've told her.

"No. She isn't answering her phone. I called Jacob but he said she hurt her arm while they were hunting and she was resting."

He exhaled with relief. Then he had another thought. "Mom…?"

"Yes?"

"Does Charlie know?" he asked.

She paused. "No…no, not yet. He thinks you're still in the hospital. He's been very busy with work but he's really been wanting to go see you."

"Okay. Just…don't let him come near here. Please…."

She knew what that meant. "I'll do my best. But…I'd like to see you."

He detected the pain in her voice. "I know. I'm not ready yet though. I just need time. I don't want to risk hurting you….Do you understand?"

Sue began crying again and it crushed him. He wanted to run over there and see her face but he knew he couldn't.

"Are you gonna be okay mom? I'm really worried about you."

She regained her composure so she could talk. "I'll be alright. I just …"

He waited, fearing what she would say next.

"….I'm just glad to hear your voice."

He smiled. "Me too. I love you."

"I love you too Seth."

When the call ended, he hung his head. His heart felt heavy, having no idea when or even if he'd see his family and friends again.

Tara interrupted his moment when she came into the bedroom wearing a fresh pair of jeans and a clean new shirt borrowed from Alice. It was a little on the frilly side, sleeveless with blue and teal patterns. She towel dried her hair as she walked in and noticed Seth sitting quietly, looking like something bothered him. He twirled his phone in his hand with a blank stare on his face.

"Hey, you okay?"

His eyes panned up and he nodded. "I called her."

Her eyebrows rose. "You did?" She worried it didn't go well from the looks of his face. "Well..?"

"She …was happy to hear my voice."

Tara walked over to him and tossed the wet towel on a chair. Then she touched his arm. "Isn't that good?"

He nodded.

"So why the sad face?"

"It was just emotional. She cried a lot and all I could do is tell her everything would be okay and not to worry but…. I can't even be there to comfort her."

She couldn't think of anything to say to make him feel better. She knew this part would be hard; being trapped here away from loved ones and adjusting to all the changes. It wouldn't be easy, but she hoped she and the others could get him through it. Tara did the best thing she could think to distract him, at least for a little bit. She stepped a little closer and started running her fingers through his hair. As they slid across his scalp, his head tingled and he instantly closed his eyes and felt at ease. His mind drifted away from the stress and instantly switched to a variety of other sensations.

"You know what I'm happiest about?" she asked him.

"Hmmm…what's that?" he moaned.

"I'm just so glad that after the transformation, when you came to…. you still wanted me."

He opened his eyes and looked straight at her. "Why would you think I wouldn't?"

Her hand stopped and slid to his shoulder. She shrugged timidly. "I just thought that the imprinting is what made you fall in love with me and I worried if I turned you, …maybe that part of you would be gone."

He started to chuckle shaking his head.

"That's _funny_ to you?" She frowned.

He took her hands in his. "No… I don't mean to laugh, it's just….I didn't think I could possibly desire you any more than I did before, not until I woke up and saw your beautiful face staring at me. Tara, I can barely take my eyes off you when you're in the room. Even though my heart doesn't beat anymore…it's like it moves when you're near me."

Her frown started turning into a smile.

"There's not a doubt in my mind that we were meant to be together. It's like you've been waiting for me all this time, to come into your life." He put his hands on her hips and looked her in the eyes. "I dunno…maybe this is just fate. Maybe I was destined to be this so I could always be with you. I'm starting to believe that anything is possible."

She's smiled and put her forehead to his. "Maybe so," she whispered before putting her lips to his.

Their kiss was abruptly interrupted by a knock on the door. Seth groaned.

"Mmm, probably for the best. Let's try and keep a few rooms in tact shall we?" she grinned.

It was Carlisle. He had some news to share with them about his findings and was gathering everyone together downstairs so he could share his new discovery.

Esme, Edward and Bella waited in the living room for the test subject to arrive, as well as all the others. Emmett stomped into the room a little reluctant. He was just in the middle of a good basketball game when Carlisle interrupted him. "Ok this better be good! The Sonics just scored and I got some money on this game!"

Alice strolled in behind with Jasper. "Won't matter...they're gonna lose anyway."

"Ugh! Alice! Come on…totally _un-cool_!" he whined at his sisters prediction.

"Twenty bucks." Jasper whispered to him.

"Hey, I don't suppose you happened to see my foot in your ass in the future too? That's cheating you know!" he complained.

"Sorry, it just came to me. And it's not my fault your team stinks," she added.

There was the sound of someone clearing their throat in the room. "Do you guys _mind_?" Carlisle interrupted.

Emmett folded his arms and groaned unhappily leaning against the wall.

"So …what's up doc?" Seth asked amusingly. He figured it must be something important since he dragged everyone together for a meeting.

"You have two extra chromosomes," he said with a grin.

Seth looked a little disappointed at first but he was also a little confused. "Uh…so how many is that?" he couldn't recall how many Jacob said they had.

"Twenty-six."

Seth blinked at him curiously. Telling he was still a bit confused, Carlisle continued to explain. "I discovered Jacob had twenty-four when I tested him. Vampires should only have twenty-five. You've _gained_ one. It's simply fascinating." He grinned.

"I'm glad you're amused," he smiled.

"You're a one of kind Seth. You gotta admit, it's pretty amazing."

Seth shrugged. "Okay, so I'm special but, in what way?"

"We know you're non-venomous, for one."

"Yeah I'm pretty glad about that, but it doesn't seem I've gained any special powers or anything."

"Sure you did. Didn't you see what happened today when Leah tried to bite you? It didn't even penetrate!" Emmett commented. Seth looked at his arm trying to remember now. He didn't even realize she'd bit him first causing him to react. He only remembered her trying to attack Tara.

"This is true. Perhaps you're stronger than you think. I'm starting to wonder about the rest of your abilities," Carlisle added.

"Well if _she_ didn't hurt me, the I suppose none of them can….which also means they could never stop me if I attacked someone. That's makes me dangerous." He frowned.

"Good thing you're _not_ venomous," Jasper pointed out again. "Even for a new-born, you seem to be much faster than expected. If your body is impenetrable then what are the other possibilities, I wonder?"

Seth started thinking about it, curious himself now as to what else he was cable of…or not.

"Seth no." Edward said reading his thoughts. He didn't agree with an idea that just popped in Seth's head.

"Why not?" he shrugged.

"Because you could die that's why. It's too dangerous." Edward argued.

"Well, how else will I know?"

"You don't need to Seth!"

"What? What are you thinking?" Tara asked.

"There's only one way to destroy a vampire right?" Seth hinted.

"Oh!" It suddenly clicked in Emmett's head. "Combustion."

Tara realized what he was thinking of trying. "No! No way! Why would you even wanna test that theory?"

"I dunno. I guess I'm just curious now." He leaned in with a grin. "I'm _special, _remember?" He winked jokingly. "I've got extra _chromosomes_…whatever that means, so what if I'm indestructible… aren't you even the least bit curious?"

"No, I'm not," she shook her head and folded her arms very serious.

The others certainly were however, but didn't want to admit to it.

"It's a tempting proposition to find out but it's not worth your life," Carlisle agreed.

"Yes but the one thing that makes a vampire so flammable is the venom…our bodies are full of it. However… since you have none, my guess is you wouldn't burst into flames if your skin came in contact with fire as the rest of us would," Jasper pointed out.

Tara turned and frowned at him with disapproval.

"It's…uh, just theory though," he added.

"_Don't_ encourage him," she growled.

Seth grinned. His curiosity got the best of him and he dashed into the kitchen and took the grate off one of the burners on the stove. They all quickly followed him.

"Only one way to know for sure, right?" He winked as he turned the knob on the stove to high, igniting the flame.

"Seth, no! I really don't want you to do this!"

"Tara, you heard Jazz, I'm not even venomous. Even if I get a little singed I'll probably heal anyway? Right?"

"Uh, well actually…"

Jasper started to speak but Emmett nudged him in the ribs and cut him off. "Hey I'm not cleaning up the mess if this goes badly," he said.

Tara groaned. "Carlisle, will you _please_ talk some sense into my husband before barbeques himself."

"Seth, there's really no need to prove this to anyone," the doctor said to him.

"Oh come on…I know you're all dying to know. I can see it in your faces." He said looking at each one of them. Tar's was the only one with a definite frown of disapproval on it.

Edward sighed. "You'll have to babysit him closely, even if you stop him now I'm sure eventually he's gonna try this when you're not around," he said to Tara. Once a vampire had their mind set on something, it was difficult to persuade them out of it. Having endless hours to think about the subject, he knew it would be only a matter of time before he'd eventually test the theory and see, just to appease his inquisitiveness.

Seth turned the knob on the gas range and ignited the flame.

"Seth!" Tara stomped her foot and yelled.

He sighed and then turned to the fortune teller. "How about it Alice? Can you see me now that I'm one of you? Do I die tonight?"

Alice smiled. "Hmmm, well I can still see Tara in her wedding dress so… I'd have to say, no."

Seth grinned and then turned to the flame. Tara anxiously grabbed his arm. He held her hand tightly with his right one and reached out with the other, slowly moving it closer to the heat. His hand came so close should have caused pain, but he felt nothing more than a mild tingly sensation. Everyone nervously continued to watch as he then pointed one finger and slowly inched it even closer to the flame. He paused nervously at first, then quickly stuck it in and then jerked his hand back waiting to feel something, but still nothing more than a mild tingle. Then again he inched his whole hand forward, slowly this time, putting the tips of his fingers the flame and yanking them back. He looked at his hand - no damage. Suddenly he jerked his hand back and forth a few times stabbing at the fire with his finger.

Nothing still.

He chuckled, ready to put it to the real test now. He turned his head, taking one quick look at Tara. Then finally he looked back at the fire and feeling brave, he stuck his entire hand in it. He counted two seconds. Nothing happened.

Everyone exhaled with relief, until suddenly he let out a scream that made them all jump. Tara grabbed his hand and yanked it back fearing he caught fire.

Seth's eyes bulged and he gripped his hand as he howled. "Ahhhhhh, ahhhh owww, ow…. " They all started at him eye's wide until Seth's painful cries turned into laughter.

"Ha-ha! Naw, I'm just kidding!" He said with a enormously mischievous grin, letting them off the hook of his little prank. "LOOK! It doesn't even hurt!" he said sticking his hand back into the fire and holding it there while laughing.

Tara's eyes widened realizing she was fooled. Emmett threw his head back laughing. It was the best joke he'd seen in a while. The others just groaned except for Tara whose panicked expression quickly turned to anger. "You…you…BIG JERK!" she shouted as she started punching him in the chest. "Don't _ever_ do that to me again!... I thought you were burning!" She continued to throw punches at him but Seth just continued to laugh, not even at all affected by her repeated strikes to his face and body. It felt like someone batting him with a cotton ball.

He grabbed her around the waste and pulled her towards him still chuckling at his own twisted humor. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry …come on it was just a joke. Don't be so angry."

Tara noticed her hands stung each time she hit him. She also noticed he didn't even flinch. Not even when she hit him pretty hard a couple times trying to make her point. She tried making it hurt, but it didn't.

She looked at him frustrated.

"What?" he said, noticing her bizarre stare. Then she suddenly cocked her fist back and punched him straight in the jaw. The blow didn't even affect him. He felt nothing…but Tara did. She growled and shook her stinging hand. Even though Seth didn't feel it, he didn't understand the act of aggression she just conveyed on him. "Hey! Have you lost your mind! I _said_ I was sorry!" he shouted.

Tara looked at the others. It was anomalous. "Doesn't that even hurt?" she asked.

"What? Your little tickle slaps? _Hardly,_" he laughed.

Tara fumed. "Emmett!" she called out. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all!" he grinned cracking his large knuckles knowing exactly what she wanted him to do. He didn't mind missing his game so much now.

As Tara stepped out of the way, Seth watched as the brawny vampire came at him and he panicked. "Wait what…?"

"Don't take this personal okay?" he said to Seth just before he punched him – Hard!

Nothing.

"Hey! What the heck are you trying to do?" Seth shouted.

Emmett was baffled. He struck even harder this time. Seth still didn't even budge. His body still stood strong like solid iron bolted to the ground. It was as if a human hand had struck him. Emmett started getting annoyed. "Okay, could you at least _act _like this is hurting you? You're damaging my ego here," he complained.

"What?" Seth shrugged.

Edward had a thought. "Um…Bella. Could we borrow your talents for a moment?" he asked sweetly.

"No problem." She grinned and stepped forward cracking her knuckles just like Emmett did.

Seth started figuring it out their plan.

"Uh…wait a sec now," he said nervously.

Bella concentrated hard and then nodded at Emmett. He cocked his fist back but as soon as he went to hit Seth his hand missed and went right past Seth's shoulder. Emmett immediately struck again but his hand went past Seth's head on the other side.

"Quit dodging me!" Emmett whined.

"No way!" he said leaping around trying not to get hit.

"Oh,h I see…" he laughed. "You're _not_ afraid to stick your hand in a little flame but you're scared of me," he teased.

Just then Seth stopped moving and Emmett hit him right dead center in the chest but his fist bounced off with a loud thud. Emmett growled clutching his aching hand and before he even saw it coming Seth threw a punch, knocking Emmett across the room in a defensive counter. His head hit the island cracking the granite counter top.

Esme clenched her teeth together and groaned. Rarely did they ever see her lose her temper but there were a few occasions. She had to have a lot of patients to be able to deal with new born vampires. They went through a lot of broken furniture and patched a lot of dry wall over the years.

Everyone just stared in awe at what they witnessed.

"Uh…I am SO sorry Mrs. C." He cringed feeling pretty horrible for all the damage he'd caused to the house.

Emmett rubbed his sore head as he got up and gave Seth an unpleasant look.

"No hard feelings?" Seth said to him with a grin. Emmett growled in reply.

"In Seth's defense, you _did _provoke a baby vampire," Jasper said.

"So why didn't my shield work?" Bella asked.

"I think because it had nothing to shield Emmett from. Seth's strength is a part of his genetic make-up. It's simply not a gift, it's what he is," Edward explained.

"Fascinating," Carlisle gleamed.

Emmett huffed and stomped back into the other room to watch the rest of his game. Jasper followed to collect his bet money and the girls went back to their previous activities. The rest of them stayed to clean up the kitchen.

"I'm really, really sorry Esme," Seth said to her again after s he swept the crumbled granite chunks into a dust pan and emptied them into the trash. She sighed. "I know you are. I also know you didn't mean to do that. We shouldn't have let Emmett treat you like a punching bag, even though you didn't seem to feel a thing."

"I really didn't. I didn't mean to hurt him either. It was just a reflex."

"We know sweetie." She patted his shoulder.

As they finished cleaning up, Carlisle took a call on his cell. It was Jacob calling to tell him they were on their way over and why. Edward's expression suddenly went from happy to distress when he listened in. Jacob also expressed his concern about Seth being in the house when they arrived. Not wanting to take any chances, Edward agreed allowed Tara take him to their cottage while Carlisle examined Renesmee. Everyone got a huge shock when they saw her getting out of the car. She looked nearly full term now.

Edward's feared the worst the instant he saw her. It was almost surreal and entirely too familiar to him. He immediately ran to her to help get her inside. "Do you need me to carry you?" he asked her.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm _pregnant_ dad, not crippled," she said waddling towards the house.

"You look…" he started to speak but then got a mental message from Jacob warning him not to mention her size in any way.

"…uncomfortable," he finished trying to carefully phrase his sentence.

Renesmee gave him an annoyed look. "I feel great dad. Strong as ever. Please don't start fussing over me. This is no big deal."

He walked by her side and offered his hand to her as she started up the front steps. "You are my only daughter sweet heart. If I can't fuss over you, I have no one else," he smiled.

She smiled back. "Well don't worry, pretty soon you're about to have two more kids to fuss over," she replied.

Carlisle got the ultrasound out first thing and started looking around, rolling the probe over her abdomen. The little peas in her belly had grown _much_ larger. Only a few days ago they looked at the tiny silhouettes in her abdomen that were forming arms and legs and fingers and toes. Now they both looked more defined, more like babies all curled up in a ball. One of them was sucking a thumb. The girls all hovered around, awing and cooing at the image. They were all enjoying experiencing pregnancy vicariously through Renesmee.

The doctor started to focus more on the baby in the back now. He kept trying to get a good image but it was hidden. Edward listened to his thoughts as he rolled the probes over and under examining the picture on the screen.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

Carlisle hesitated.

This guy seems to be a little smaller than the other one. It concerns me but we'll just keep an eye on him. The amniotic fluid levels appeared low as well but he didn't mention it to her. Only Edward knew now that he was listening to all his thoughts.

"_Him_?" Renesmee noticed the word he used was a gender and not and _it _this time.

Carlisle grinned at her. He rolled the probe a little lower and pointed. "Mmm, yup. If I remember my biology correctly, that's definitely a _him_." He winked.

"And the other?" she asked.

"_Both_ boys," see replied

Renesmee smiled from ear to ear. The girls were all taking turns hugging her.

"Hey don't squish them!" Jacob complained.

"Oh don't worry Jake. We'll all be very careful with her," Esme assured him.

"I'd like to keep you here a while to keep an eye on things," Carlisle added.

"How long?" Jacob questioned.

"Just a few days hopefully. I'd like to monitor them just till I'm sure there are no problems and then you can go home."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Okay sure. It's just a few days."

Carlisle set her up in a comfortable bed near the television. He kept the monitors on her belly to track the babies' heartbeats and activity. The all girls took turns feeling them kick while Emmett and Jasper tuned in to some boxing. Emmett was trying to gain back some of the money he'd lost.

Edward made a call to see if Tara would be able to handle Seth alone for a few days explaining that they needed to keep Renesmee there for a bit longer than expected. Tara of course had no problem with it. She assured Edward she would keep a close eye on him and call if they needed anything.

"Oh and one more thing…" Edward said just before hanging up.

"What's that?" Tara asked.

"Try not to let him destroy the house."

**The Cottage**

Seth had only been there couple times before but he'd never actually gone in the house.

He walked around, looking at everything. Though the place was small, he took his time giving himself a tour, observing the designs and features on all the items throughout the place. An object as simple as a wood picture frame was simply fascinating to him - each grain in the wood, clearly visible to his keen eyes. It amused Tara to watch him wander about curiously. He was like a blind man seeing the world for the first time. He started to understand why vampires became so easily distracted at times. He spent nearly thirty minutes alone just studying the texture of the ceiling, counting the cracks and the patterns. Simple items he took for granted before had so much more appeal to him now. When she finally managed to get him to sit still and watch a movie with her he became distracted again between thinking about his mother, Leah, Jacob and then without realizing it, be began counting the fibers in the carpet. He was finally interrupted by the phone in his pocket when it started to buzz.

"Edward?" Tara asked.

Seth pulled it out and looked at it. "Nope, it's Ness." He smiled reading her text.

**Sorry I got you kicked out of the house. Jake told me everything! How are you handling it?**

"What's she saying?" Tara asked.

"She's apologizing for getting me kicked out of the house."

Tara giggled. It was just like Renesmee to think about others before herself.

"And she wants to know how I'm doing."

**No worries. How are the babies?**

**Fine so far….I can't see my feet anymore!**

**LOL Send me a pic **

**Kk. One sec.**

Within less than a minute a picture came through.

"Holy cow! Look at her!" Seth said.

Tara grabbed the phone and gasped. "She's huge! That happened over night?"

"Guess so."

You sure there are only two babies in there? LOL

Hey! I can still break your other arm you know!

Ha! Not anymore. Didn't you hear… I'm like a super vampire.

LOL Cool! Maybe they'll make a comic book out of you.

He laughed. **Perfect!**

**OK. Your turn. What does vampire Seth look like?**

He got an idea. He googled a picture of Nosferatu and downloaded it, then sent it to her.

He waited.

**SETH!**

He snickered_._

**No fair! You got to see me!**

He sighed.

"What on Earth are you two going on about?" Tara asked.

"She wants a picture of me now."

Tara shrugged. "So, send her one." She grabbed the phone from his hand.

"Hey…"

She held the phone up to him. "Show me your teeth." She winked but he just frowned.

"Well that's not gonna work." She snapped a picture of his eyes, then forwarded it to her and handed him the phone back.

Renesmee answered back. **OMG! **she replied.

**Yeah…**

**It will all be ok…you'll see. **

**Hoping…**

**I miss u. Jake too. **

**Miss u too kid.**

There was a short pause before she replied.

**Ooh pizza's here!**

**Wish I could say I was jealous **he replied.**  
**

**LOL We've totally traded diets haven't we?**

**Think so. Go feed your babies. ttyl ~ Seth**

He stuck his phone back in his jeans pocket and tried to get back into the plot but so many other things kept running through his mind. He couldn't believe how busy the mind of a vampire was. The distractions were nice however, keeping his mind off worrying and the constant burning in the back of his throat.

As the day passed and the night approached, Seth ran out of things in the house to occupy his mind. By the middle of the night he was pacing and staring out the window. The house started feeling like a prison now and he wasn't quite sure how long he would be able to tolerate being cooped up like a caged animal until his desire to hunt and kill faded – _if _it ever faded.

Even though he enjoyed hunting the elk and the way its blood smelled and tasted, he had no idea how it compared to human blood. It was something he had not had the opportunity to experience yet and he was afraid to get anywhere near it. He wasn't sure if anyone would be able to stop him now if he came in contact with a human and couldn't control himself.

"You look troubled again." Tara noticed.

"Yeah…it's just…I'm going crazy. I'm bored. It's three a.m. and I'm usually sleeping at this hour. I don't know how you do it. I guess I can see why you guys are all ridiculously smart, having have a gazillion hours on your hands so you can just read and studying arts but I'm just not that kinda guy. I like being outside, riding my motorcycle and hanging out at the beach. Heck, I'd rather be fixing a car than cooped up in here like this."

"We're not all like that. I mean you'll learn everything you do faster and easier, but we all cling to the things we liked before the change. Emmett spends hours watching and playing sports. It's what he loves. Alice likes fashion and Esme like home making and charity work….once you feel comfortable around humans again you can go back to working with Jacob. I don't see why not."

He gave her battered look. "I can?" he paused and she waited for him to continue. "I…I can't even stop thinking about ….I wanna …"

He struggled to get the words out but Tara instantly saw it in his face what he needed. "You're thirsty?"

He nodded.

"Be right back then." Tara left the room and returned in a matter of seconds with a couple pints of blood.

"Here... Carlisle made sure the place was stocked up. This way you don't have to risk leaving."

He just stared at the bag.

"What's wrong?"

"I liked hunting."

"I know, I'm sorry but we can go later when you have more escorts."

Tara helped him out by putting a small tear in the top so he could smell the blood inside. His throat fired up. He wanted it badly.

"Go ahead. You know you want it." She held it out offering it to him. She watched him wide eyed as he put his lips to the opening and began drinking. The bag was empty in seconds.

"More?" she asked.

He nodded. His body trembled, aching for the blood.

She quickly brought him more and fed him until he seemed more calm and satisfied. "You shouldn't let yourself go that long. If you desire to feed you should just say something. You need more blood than we do right now because you're so young." She explained.

He nodded. "I suppose, I just hate to admit it."

"Admit what?"

"That I really want it. I can't even wrap my head around it. It's all I think about…well _almost_ all I think about," he touched her face with one finger caressing her cheek with it.

She grinned.

"But…" he looked guilty even as he said it. "I _liked_ the feeling of hunting something down and killing it and the _taste_. The satisfaction I got from it. It scares me."

"But Seth, you've hunted game before…as a wolf."

"I know but…this was different. There was something more savage about it. I hunted for survival before. This was pure enjoyment."

She nodded. "It's our natural instinct – we're hunters. Didn't you enjoy hunting vampires too? Wasn't there some thrill in it for you at times?"

He nodded.

"It's just part of what you were. It's was your natural instinct to hunt them and to protect the ones you loved."

"I don't like this new feeling. I'm worried humans will look like prey to me."

She looked at him straight in the eyes. "They will…at first. They'll smell like it but you'll know the difference. When you see the faces of the ones you care about, your heart will tell you it's wrong. Trust me. It took me a long time but I managed to do it with complete strangers."

"Accidents happen though sometimes…don't they?"

She touched his cheek. "Don't worry. I'm gonna keep my eye on you." She smiled.

He cringed at the thought wondering how odd this must all seem to her. "So aren't you even weirded-out by watching me drink blood?" he asked as he fumbled with the empty bag in his hand.

She shook her head. "Not, not at all. It's actually a thrill for me to watch you."

He cocked and eyebrow. "Uh, _oh_… really?"

"Mmm-hmm. A little entertaining too I might add. You're a very messy eater," she said with her eyes staring at the blood on his shirt that dripped down.

He looked down at the red stain and groaned. "Shoot. This will never come out."

"It's hard to get it all out of the fibers too. You'll have to write this one off," she said.

He pulled it off and threw it in the crackling fire place.

He tossed the empty bags in there as well.

"Next time I'll just have to feed you naked in the bath tub," she teased.

It made him laugh.

"You still have some on you." She said as she reached up and wiped his blood smeared lips with her fingers, then held up her palm and showed him the blood on her hand. It pleasantly surprised her when he quickly grabbed it and began licking it off.

His tongue brushed each finger and then worked its way to the center of her hand. "Did I get it all?" he asked looking for more.

She shook her head when she spotted some drops that fell at the base of his neck and she slowly leaned in and licked them off his skin. The feel of her tongue sent a charge through his entire body. He closed his eyes and inhaled the scent of her hair as it brushed his cheek.

"Mmm, your scent is intoxicating. I can actually taste you."

"What do you smell?"

"It's like lilacs and… strawberries, hundreds of them."

She smiled and slid her hands up his smooth hard chest. "Do you like it more than chocolate cake?"

"_Much_ more."

She lifted her heals off the ground and reached up to him, pressing her mouth to his, softly at first just brushing his lips, tasting his breath as he nervously exhaled. The sensation was overwhelming and the taste of blood on his tongue aroused her. Tara's slid her hands around the back of Seth's neck, entwining her fingers though his hair as she deepened her kiss. Her tongue met his, absorbing the remnants of copper and salt at lingered in his mouth. .

Seth suddenly felt a new desire and an urging that he could not suppress. When his hand drifted down underneath her bottom, he pulled her body against his, lifting her off the ground. When Tara wrapped her legs around his waist his conscious mind no longer controlled his actions. There was a quick sound of fabric ripping and then before he realized it, he was on the bed, crushing Tara's naked body against his own. Her body writhed and trembled under his. He couldn't contain his energy and his desire to have her consumed him. Shrieked with each rhythmic movement he made. There seemed to be no end to his desires. Once he felt a quick release of tension, another current of yearning desire followed. Tara's hands gripped the cushions beneath her. Her fingers bore into the mattress and she called out his name in a high pitched wail that suddenly made him aware of his surroundings.  
"_No!"_ he thought.

In an instant, Tara found herself alone on the bed. She lifted her head looking around for her partner who'd abruptly got up and left her bewildered and state of tingling perplexity. He was huddled on the floor back against the wall with his hands in his face. She instantly rushed his side. "Seth!" What's wrong?

"Oh Tara, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Oh God. I'm such a monster"

"What?" She touched his shoulder. "What are you talking about?"

"I didn't mean to hurt you. I …I could stop myself. I-I couldn't control it. I wanted you so bad…I …aw man…" he rubbed his head, clenching his fingers in his hair,

Tara sat for a moment in a dazed state then suddenly burst out in laughter. "You didn't hurt me!"

A confused face surfaced from behind his palms. "But…you…sounded so …um. You were practically screaming."

She bashfully buried her face into his shoulder, chuckling. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so noisy. I couldn't help it.

"So… you're okay? I didn't _hurt_ you?"

"No, no." She caressed his head. "I wasn't in any pain, everything felt good. _Really _good. You just, um…made me …well you know…" She felt at a loss for words.

"OH." It suddenly he understood "But, you've never done that before…well I mean, not like that."

She demurely shook her head. "Well no. I couldn't before. I was always careful with you. I could never really let go without hurting you. But this time was different. There were no limits for me. You didn't nothing wrong."

"I wasn't too rough with you?" He felt a terrible guilt remembering his actions now. There was no tenderness or affection. It was purely carnal passion that he'd craved and sought from her. He'd never felt so animalistic before and though he felt disgusted with himself, he craved to do it again.

"Of course not. This is …well, normal. Don't feel bad just because you want me."

"But…like that?"

"It will always be intense because all of your senses are heightened. Once you learn some restraint though, you'll learn to be gentle again. Just like with hunting. It'll take time to learn control….and practice. Now…come back to bed."


	26. Chapter 26

** Sacrifice**

Jacob slept on a couch next to Renesmee's bed during the night. She had monitors attached to her large, round belly but with the sound off so she could rest peacefully. Carlisle continued to check on her through the night. When she finally awoke the next morning, the doctor brought out the ultrasound to check the babies. Upon hearing the swishing sound of the heart beats, four more female vampires snuck into the room to observe also. Edward of course was already ahead of them. The girls all giggled when they saw the bigger one playing with his toes. His smaller brother appeared to be much less active though.

"He must be sleeping," Renesmee suggested as she looked at him on the screen all curled up in a ball.

"Well, how do they look?" Jacob asked Carlisle. He was much more concerned.

"Heartbeats look good," he replied.

Bella felt relieved that Renesmee's pregnancy didn't resemble her own. She barely had enough room in her womb for the one baby, let alone two.

"Did they grow at all?" she asked.

"It doesn't appear so. I think they grew _with_ Renesmee, when she grew. Their bodies changed with hers during the night," Carlisle stated.

"You think it will happen again?" Jacob asked as he held onto his wife's hand.

"Well in theory, I wouldn't expect it to. They seem to be spaced a couple years apart now," he explained.

Jacob felt some relief with that bit of information.

Suddenly the bigger baby kicked, making her jump.

"Oh!" She let out a startled laugh. "That was a good one."

Carlisle smiled as he still watched them closely. "Hmm, looks like the big guy woke his brother up."

The smaller one's arms and legs stretched out as if he were yawning.

"Ooh, that feels weird." Renesmee said.

"Are you in any pain?" Carlisle asked.

"Nope," She shook her head. "Doesn't hurt it's just…strange." She knew it would take some getting used to having two little bodies inside her moving around.

Edward smiled. He was also very pleased that her pregnancy was going so well.

"Sooo, are we gonna give these babies a name or are we just gonna keep calling them _the Big Guy _and_ the Little Guy_?" Alice asked.

Renesmee perked up. "Ooh…it's so funny you mentioned that!…I picked their names last night!" she said excitedly.

"Uh, you did?" Jacob scrunched his eyebrows.

"Yup. I thought we'd name _the Big Guy_ after both our dads….William Edward."

Bella beamed with happiness. "Oh, Renesmee, that's perfect!"

Edward felt completely overjoyed. He stepped in and kissed his daughter's cheek. "Thank you sweetheart. I'm quite honored."

She wanted to know her husband's response. "Well Jake, you like it?" she asked.

"It's great. Billy will be really honored too," he said kissing her hand. "I'm also extremely glad you didn't decide to _combine_ their names and call him something like _Bedward_ or _Edilly,_" he added with an eye roll then looked right at Bella.

_"Tsk!_ Shut it dog!" Bella shoved his arm.

Everyone in the room tried exceptionally hard not to laugh but they were all snickering until one by one the whole room broke out in giggles, except Bella of course who just rolled her eyes.

"Oh, lighten up _mom_!" Jacob teased but that just provoked Bella to grab him by the ear and pinch.

"Ow! Bells! Come on! Where's your sense of humor?"

She let go and just smirked. Edward chuckled still. "What about _Little Guy_?" Bella asked her then.

"Liam Gabriel," Renesmee said.

"That's beautiful sweetie. What made you pick that name?" Esme asked.

She shrugged. "Two names I've always loved. I couldn't decide so I chose both."

"So Liam and William it is," Jacob said. "I like it."

Had anyone been within close proximity of Edward and Bella's cottage during the night, they might've mistaken the series of tremors in the area for an earthquake. The two of them rocked the entire house until the sun finally rose in the morning.

They started out on the bed until the legs nearly gave out and Tara also realized she would have to replace their bedding somehow since it was torn to shreds. She thought the floor would be safer till Seth gripped the carpet fibers so tightly at one point he pulled them out leaving a hole in. The wood flooring in the living room didn't fare as well either when he clawed through it. Each room looked as though someone had let a wild animal in – pictures were knocked down off the walls, furniture had been tipped over and there were scratches randomly on the walls and floors around the home from Seth's fingernails.

By morning, both of them ended up back on the bed; their bodies were completely entwined and both breathed rapidly from the excitement.

The rain had finally stopped and the sun actually exposed itself over the horizon. When it crept up and peeked through the bedroom window, the rays bounced off their skin, reflecting the light like tiny crystals in the surface of their bodies. Seth paused for a moment when he caught a glimpse of his own hand glimmering in the sunlight. Tara gasped when she saw his luminous face for the first time. She smiled at him.

He smiled back, touching the surface of her cheek where the tiny little facets lit up her angelic face. Then he let out a tiny laugh, feeling so unbelievable satisfied and blissful.

She laughed with him sharing the same emotions. "So what did you think?"

He inhaled her sweet breath as she spoke.

"I don't even think there are _words_ that can describe what we just did. It was completely…earth shattering… rapturous."

She chuckled. "Told you."

Then she bit her lip think about how euphorically happy she was as the moment.

"I swear I will never complain about being locked up for hours in a house like this with you again."

She laughed. "Better than your first time even, hmm?"

"Mmm yeah but… for a human that was the best experience of my life. I hope I never lose that memory."

She smiled at him. "Me too."

"_This_ however …this was better than my first hunt even." He added.

Her eye brows rose. "Really?"

"Mmm,-hmm."

That surprised her, knowing how thirsty a new born is when they first come out of their painful transformation. Their first priority is to find blood. The hunger for it is usually maddening, especially if it's not satisfied right away. Once a vampire has its first taste blood, it initiates the addiction for it and from then on there's nothing a vampire desires more heavily than the taste and feel of the hot liquid as it slides down the back of their throat and quenches the blazing fire within.

She grinned feeling a little proud of herself. "Well, I suppose I _would_ be more satisfying than some crusty old elk," she teased. "But you haven't experienced human blood yet… fortunately. If that had been your first taste, you'd probably think differently."

He leaned in, inhaling her scent deeply and shook his head. "I really can't imagine anything that could taste better than you."

Her eyes softened and she clutched him like she never wanted to let go. "I just might keep you my prisoner here forever then," she whispered.

"I certainly wouldn't mind." He brushed her lips with his and then rested his forehead against hers. "I have the feeling Edward and Bella might protest though."

The sudden mention of Edward's name drove fear into Tara's face. "Oh crap!" she blurted out. The tender moment was ruined by the sound of tension in her voice. Tara looked around the room assessing the damage they'd done.

"Edward's gonna _kill_ me!" she lamented.

When Seth finally took a good look, he gasped. He hadn't realized they'd completely wrecked the place during their night of unbridled pleasures. "Uh…maybe we can clean it up a bit," he said scanning the room. "I mean…it's not too bad. Looks like a lot of stuff got knocked around but there's not too much damage that can't be easily fixed right?"

Just as he'd finished his last sentence, there was a creaking noise followed by a loud snap and suddenly the bed collapsed beneath them. The legs had finally given out.

They both clutched each other as they fell with it and it hit the floor with a clamoring bang.

They both looked at each other in total shock with their mouths gaped open.

"Oh _yeah_… we're dead," Seth admitted.

**Towards the afternoon…**Renesmee sat in her bed, surrounded by Alice, Jasper, Bella and Jacob, all engaged in a very serious game of Monopoly.

Jacob rolled the dice.

"Twelve! Yes! I'll buy that," he said as he landed on Park Place.

"Ugh! How do you keep landing on all the _good_ properties?" Renesmee complained.

"You just gotta have the _skills_ baby," he gloated making her grab his card out of the pile and then threw it at him.

"Okay don't be gettin' all nasty, about it.! I rolled em fair. Oh and look…I have double sixes…I get to go again." He grinned.

Renesmee rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry Ness, he's about to roll his third double and go to jail," Alice said.

"Hey, quit that! Cheater!" Jacob complained.

"It's not cheating because I can't _control_ the dice. I just see 'em before you roll" grinned smugly.

Jacob grumbled and then rolled the dice again. They landed on double threes.

He moaned. "Hey… wait…I thought you can't see my future."

Alice grinned. "I can't….it was a lucky guess," she laughed.

The others all laughed now too.

"Oh here, let me get that for you," Bella said from the other side of the table closest to his little race car piece. She picked it up and stuck it in the _Go To Jail_ space on the board. "My turn!" she chimed and then rolled the dice. It was an eight. "Crap!"

Jasper grinned. "Hmm, I have two houses on _that_ one. That will be six-hundred and twenty dollars please."

Bella growled counting her fake money. She was down to the fifties and twenties in her small change as Jacob had just nearly cleaned her out of her larger bills in the last round.

As Alice picked up the dice to roll, Edward strolled in carrying in a large tray of food. He set in on a small table next to Renesmee's bed.

"Wow, what's all that dad?" she asked.

"I made your eggs for you, the way you like them since you've been thinking about it all morning. You really should just ask one of us to cook something up for you if you're hungry. You know it's no trouble at all sweetie. I know you'd rather have some blood but it won't be much longer to wait," he replied.

Renesmee gave him a confused look. "Umm, I don't know what you're talking about dad."

"Eggs…you've been thinking about it all morning. I finally just figured I'd make you some."

Renesmee looked down at the half eaten muffin next to her and then she glanced over at the others who looked just as baffled as she did.

"Dad, I haven't thought about eggs all morning. I just ate a muffin. The blood sounds great though. I wish I could have some," she said.

Edward stared at her for a moment. Now he was confused too.

Suddenly Bella gasped and Edward's eyes met hers. "_No… way_!" she said.

"What?" Renesmee asked staring at the two of them.

Edward put his hands up to his head as though something just hit him. His eyes widened and he looked almost as if he was about to cry. Then he stepped closer to his daughter and looked as though he was concentrating, hard.

"Dad…" she touched his arm. "Dad, are you okay?"

Edward nodded. "He _spoke_ to me."

"Who?" she asked.

He reached over and touched her belly. "Liam."

"Oh my gosh! You can hear him!" Renesmee squealed loudly.

Just when she shouted out she felt the babies inside both jump and they also both kicked Edward's hand.

He fell backward losing his footing and laughing as though he'd gone mad. Bella ran to him quickly. "Edward, are you alright?"

He kept laughing. "He…he can hear me too!" he said grabbing his head again "He's in my head!"

Now the others were all in complete awe.

"Liam can _hear_ you?" Renesmee asked.

Edward nodded. "It's incredible. I've never felt anything like it. We're actually communicating."

"That's amazing Edward!" Bella said. "What do you hear?"

"His thoughts are so similar to Ness's. That's why I thought it was her all morning. When I tried to figure out which baby it was, he heard me thinking and just…_told _me."

"What about William? Do you hear him too?"

Edward concentrated hard. After a moment he shook his head. "I don't think I can. I only hear Liam."

Jacob watched silently as Edward spoke to _his_ baby, feeling very left out of the equation. Edward suddenly looked up and right at him. "He hears you too Jacob and he says don't feel that way. He loves you… _both _of you, very much," Edward said. "In fact he says they love the stories you read to them at night."

Jacob began tearing up and then he touched his wife's belly. "He _hears_ me?"

Edward nodded. "He listens to you all the time."

Renesmee smiled at her husband and Jacob's eyes became very glossy.

"Liam says… his favorite story is the Tale of Two Brothers," Edward continued.

"I picked that one," Renesmee bragged.

Edward listened some more. "But he says William's favorite is The Three Musketeers, which I believe is your favorite too… isn't is Jacob?"

Jacob nodded. He was too emotional to even speak now.

"All for one…and one for all. It's a story after your own heart," he said.

"So can Liam hear William?" Bella asked.

Edward thought for a moment. "Yes, because they are connected right now," he said.

"Well, ask him why _you_ can't."

He paused and scrunched his eyebrows. "He doesn't know."

Jasper then had a thought. "You know…it's just a theory and perhaps a far-fetched one at that but, if Liam has a mind-reading ability like Edward, then what if William has an ability that's like Bella's? Maybe that's why you can't hear him."

Bella shrugged. "That makes sense. I think at this point…I believe anything's possible."

Edward smiled. "I think you're right about that."

"So Liam was asking you to make some eggs all morning then, huh?" Renesmee asked with a big grin. Being able to talk to them was just so fascinating to her.

Edward closed his eyes and listened for a while. When he opened them finally, he looked troubled by something. "He says they were for William. Liam prefers blood but it makes William sick. He can't have it."

"But…does he _need_ the blood? Is that why he's so small?" she worried.

He thought again. "He says… he wants it, but the eggs will do. He likes the proteins."

Renesmee smiled. "I guess I should eat them then."

Edward caressed her head. "Yes, you should. He wants to sleep now."

Renesmee cradled her belly "Okay, time to eat then," she said to her babies.

Edward handed her the plate and a fork. "Do you want me to get you anything else sweetheart?" he asked.

She shook her head and grabbed his hand. "You've just given me the best gift I could ever imagine. Thank you."

He leaned over and kissed her head. "I love you," he said wishing his gift didn't feel like such a curse sometimes.

"You're leaving?" she asked.

"I need to call Carlisle. He'll probably want to take the day off from work when I tell him this one."

And that he did.

Carlisle had enough overtime on the books that he didn't feel too guilty when he got someone to cover his shift so he could return home. He was entirely too excited now to concentrate on work.

When he arrived, he found Renesmee in the living room, sound asleep. After she'd eaten she decided to rest along with the babies. They moved everyone out of the room to keep it quiet, though Jacob stayed. Unable to leave her side, he quietly sat next to her just petting her belly and watching her sleep. He hummed a lullaby in his head over and over as they all slept.

Carlisle decided to find Edward. He searched the house and found him in the music room, also playing a lullaby of his own - something new he started composing. Bella sat with him, savoring every note.

Edward paused as soon as he heard Carlisle's thoughts.

"_That one's lovely_. _I don't think I've heard it before_." He said to Edward without speaking.

"Thank you. It just came to me." Edward replied.

Bella turned her head and smiled at her father-in-law.

He entered and put his hand on her shoulder. "Do you mind if Edward and I speak privately Bella?"

"Of course not' She said to him.

Then she leaned down to his ear. "Come find me when you're done?"

"Absolutely," he replied. "Esme is shopping for baby items on-line, why don't you go help her and I'll join you in a few."

She gave gentle kiss before she slipped out.

Carlisle pulled up a chair and sat with Edward. "You sounded troubled over the phone. I expected you to be more excited about being able to communicate with the babies as you were with Renesmee, but I sensed there was something bothering you," he noticed.

Edward stared at the keys on the piano. "He's not going to make it, and he knows it."

"Who?" Carlisle asked.

"Liam….he needs blood to survive. He's so much like Renesmee was, but the blood makes William sick, he can't have it and since they share one placenta he's chosen to give up the blood. He can sustain himself for a while on human, food but without blood he won't live."

Carlisle looked dumfounded. "He _said _all this to you? Today?" he asked.

"Yes. He trusted me not to tell her. He doesn't want her to know right now and he wants to give William as much time as he can to grow to full term. He's holding out as long as he can."

"This is…truly unbelievable," Carlisle grieved. He tried to think of something he could do to save him.

"You can't. There's nothing you can do. Liam made the choice already a long time ago. That's why Renesmee can't tolerate blood in her digestive system. He rejects it so William doesn't get sick from it. He knows William will carry Jacob's blood line. He's entirely human but caries the gene. He wants him to be the one to live."

"Can you talk to William at all?"

"No…but Liam can and he's the stronger one so William can't do anything to change his decision. They can communicate but I am unable to hear William. He seems to have some ability to block his thoughts, just as Bella did with me."

Carlisle shook his head. "Astonishing."

"Yes."

"This will crush Renesmee, as well as Jacob I'm sure," Carlisle said sadly.

"Yes, I know and… I have to sit back and allow it to happen. There's nothing I can do. I promised him."

Carlisle put his hand on his son's shoulder.

"Sometimes I just wish I didn't have this gift. I hate knowing this," Edward told him.

"Edward…" he said squeezing his shoulder. He looked at his father figure with a somber face.

"You have a _very_ special gift. You're the only one who can hear him. You should feel blessed that you have the opportunity to get to know him in a way that no one else can. Just be there for him as much as you can and then when the time comes…you can tell Renesmee what he did for his brother. He's has an extraordinary soul. I'd be honored to have the connection with him that you do," Carlisle told him.

Edward thought about it for a moment. Then he finally nodded. "You're right. I won't let him down."

****Author's note: This story/chapter is dedicated to my son, Liam Gabriel Hoyt.**


	27. Chapter 27

**Trust and Forgiveness  
**

Tara and Seth did their best cleaning up the disarray of furniture and household items that got knocked over in throughout the night as they were caught up in their heedless passion for each other. They were busy re-hanging pictures on the walls and sweeping up all the pieces of cotton that came from the bedding and got strewn about the room.

A few times they became totally side-tracked and started to mess the place up again. Tara started dressing again determined to keep her clothes on this time. She searched for her top, wandering around in only her jeans and bra.

"You know the longer we stay here, they worse it will just get," Seth said as he helped her look. The ceiling fan didn't have anything on it.

"Well we don't have much of a choice right now. We have to wait until you can go back over to the Cullens. Maybe they can build a padded room for us," she teased throwing the pillows back on the couch after tipping it back upright.

Seth laughed. "I'm sure we'd find way to wreck it."

Tara picked a pillow up off the floor that was torn in half and looked at it. "Mmm, no doubt."

"And now I finally see why you've been holding out on me this whole time," he said.

"Oh, you're _now_ just figuring that out?"

"Well, I knew you had to be careful but I had no idea just _how_ careful."

"Of course. It took very little effort for me to crack your ribs. A broken pelvis would have been much worse, _trust_ me."

Seth smiled her favorite smile. "So you must be much more satisfied now that you don't have to worry about hurting me or not entirely enjoying the experience."

In less than a second she was standing directly in front of him with a very serious expression on her face. "I've _always _enjoyed the experience…_always _with you."

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean it to come out like that." He took her hand in his entwining his fingers with hers. "I'm just saying you seemed to enjoy it a little bit _more_ last night."

Her eyes shifted away, not wanting to fully admit it.

"Am I right?" He put his finger under her chin lifting her eyes to his.

She gave him a coy smile. "Maybe so."

"I mean you have to admit that last night was pretty epic."

She let out a chuckle. Then Seth slowly leaned into her ear, putting one hand to her back and pulling her in close. "And I think…" he whispered while kissing her neck just below her earlobe. "…you seemed…" He kissed her neck again going lower this time. "…a little more vocal last night than I remember from before."

When his tongue brushed her neck she let out a noise that let him know she liked it. Then they were suddenly backing into a table and the lamp that sat on it started to fall to the floor. Tara quickly reached out and caught it before it hit.

She sighed. "I think perhaps we should pause that thought. Otherwise we'll be cleaning all day long."

Seth frowned.

"Is there anything _else_ you'd like to do today?" she asked.

"Well...you could feed me again."

"Oh…of course." She began heading to the fridge but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Mmm, that's not what I meant. Take me on a hunt."

She could see the thrill in his eyes even as he said it.

"No." she said flat out. "Too dangerous."

He groaned in protest. "Oh come one, I have to learn don't I? You said yourself the only way to learn control is practice…So?"

"But Seth, what if something goes wrong and I can't stop you by myself?"

"If _you_ can't stop me then I don't see what difference it will make having anyone else around. _Please_? I want to try and I _don't_ wanna sit inside all day long." His eyes diverted to the strap on her bra. He hooked one finger under it and slid it off her shoulder. "Unless of course… you plan on keeping me entertained longer." He grinned hugely.

She scrunched her eyes together and groaned trying to decide. She knew either way she was going to regret something. "Well… I suppose Edward's gonna kill me anyway…so.."

"Mmm? So which is it?" he asked reaching for the other strap now.

She suddenly spotted her blouse on top of the lamp the other room and before she let him get too carried away, she made a decision.

"Okay…get the car keys, I have an idea."

Tara drove north into the mountains as far as they could go by car, then parked and traveled the rest of the way on foot through the forest, being sure to stay off trail to avoid hikers.

"So what's on the menu?" he asked while running next to her as a slower pace, allowing her to lead.

"Um, probably anything we see on the way but maybe you'll get lucky and we'll see a mountain lion."

"On the way?" he wondered. "To where?"

"You'll see," she said with a grin.

As they weaved in and out of the trees, moving together through the thick forest, Seth took pleasure in his moment of freedom. He felt lighter than air as he moved. There was something entirely different about running at that rate of speed on only two feet. The angles seemed different. He thought perhaps it was his sharper vision that made the forest look so intensely colorful and vivid but he also noticed how little effort it took to run. Never feeling winded or out of breath; there was no need to breathe. His muscles never tired. He felt as though he could run forever and still keep going.

When they changed direction and began moving higher up the wind shifted into their faces and he was hit with a fragrant wall that made this throat burst into flames. At the edge of a cliff, he spotted an entire herd of big horned sheep, standing on the rocks like statues. Their color blended in with their environment but even at a distance he targeted the spot in their necks where the warm blood pulsed rapidly. He stopped and listened, hearing the thumping sound of their hearts. It impulsively lured him in.

Tara watched him carefully as he stealthily closed in on his prey that stood about twenty yards away. His muscles tensed getting ready to launch himself at the pack of animals. As he scanned the group he quickly chose the biggest and closest one, locking his eyes on the beast just before he bound through the air and made his attack. The clumsy animal stumbled on the rocks trying to get to higher ground and make its escape but it couldn't outrun him. Seth was on top of the creature in seconds. It let out a bellow just before he sunk his teeth into his neck. Tara couldn't resist the temptation of a meal for herself. Once seeing that Seth made his kill, she set out on a chase of her own. The herd had started to disperse already, scattering about trying to run from its predators. She followed their scent and made her pursuit up the mountain side after them, finally catching up to one that took a wrong turn and she managed to cut it off before it could get away. Seth caught up to her once he finished off his sheep, feeling fully satisfied by his catch. "Feel better?" she asked.

"Much. Where to now?" he wondered.

Tara looked down the side of the mountain. "Hear that water running?"

He listened intently. "Yeah."

"That's where we're headed. Come on…follow me." She took his hand and led him to a couple more miles, into secluded area of the forest near a small body of water. It was completely hidden away and camouflaged by the dense trees and brush.

"What's this?" he asked.

This is where we swim," she said.

Seth looked at the dark little pool. It didn't seem big enough for the two of them to swim in even.

"Umm, _swim_? You know we already had a bath tub at the house right?" he said sarcastically.

She chuckled. "Trust me."

Tara took off all her clothes and stood by the edge of the water. She turned back and looked at Seth who still stood in the same spot looking baffled. "What are you waiting for?"

"Oh…" he said realizing she wanted him to follow her lead. As he undressed, she jumped in feet first, disappearing into the water. It was much deeper than it appeared.

Her head finally popped back up and she stared up at him. "Well? Come on…"

Seth slid in the water rather than jumped in and inched over to her.

She smiled. "You okay?"

"Sure…what now?"

"Now we swim."

"Uh…" he looked around the surface of tiny pool. "Where?"

"You know one cool thing about being a vampire?" she asked and waited till he shook his head.

"No need to hold your breath under water," she finished, then sunk down below and disappeared.

Seth looked down trying to see her but it was too dark. Suddenly he felt a hand touch him under the water. "Hey um…oh…" It wasn't what he'd expected at first but it was a pleasant surprise. He closed his eyes and relaxed until suddenly, the hand yanked him down under the water. He started to struggle, panicking at first. He was used to needing air, but then he realized...his lungs didn't need it. Tara's hand grabbed his and then she pulled him down deeper until they finally leveled out and swam straight though a dark tunnel that went for nearly a half a mile underground.

When they surfaced, they were on the other side of the mountain in a deep canyon. A giant cascade fell from the rocks above, at least one hundred feet, into the immense water basin below it. The inside of the canyon contained little vegetation. A few trees, ferns and moss covered rocks surrounded the pool. The sun peaked out of the clouds and reflected off the surface of the water. Tara's skin glimmered in the sunlight creating hundreds of tiny prisms on the walls of the bowl-shaped canyon.

"W-wow! Where are we?" Seth asked.

"On the other side."

"I've never seen this place before."

"Of course not, you can't get to it on foot. I discovered it a while ago when I was hunting once. I used to come here sometimes just to be alone and think. I always wanted to bring you but it's too long of a swim for a human."

"This is great!" he said taking it all in.

If we climb to that ledge up there we can jump down too," she smiled.

"I'll race you!" he challenged… and she was already out of the water.

Edward heard the cruiser as it rolled up the road and pulled in into the driveway. He knew the familiar buzz in the thought patterns of Charlie's head, and lately there was a lot buzzing going on in there. He'd been busy trying to track whoever or whatever is was responsible for several murders that occurred recently. The front door swung open before the officer even reached the top step. "Edward…hey I'm glad I caught you. Is Bells here too?" Charlie asked.

"Yes, she's inside with Ness. Come in." he opened the door gesturing for him to enter.

"Thanks."

Bella heard her father's voice from the other room and came running to see him. "Hi dad!" she said and then gave him a barely noticed Charlie's scent any longer. The burning irritation she used to experience from being near him was now reduced to nothing but a minor discomfort, easily tolerable to her. She embraced the sensation knowing it was just a part of being close to him and she now better understood how Edward managed to be around her as a human yet remain in control of his natural urges.

"Hey Bells. Sorry I've been so scarce lately. Things are really picking up down there at the station."

"Any leads?" Edward asked.

"Very little. I wanted to inform you, we've initiated a man-hunt and we also have some forensics coming in from Seattle trying to solve this thing. I was hoping you might have some information for me though that could be helpful."

Edward and Bella glanced at one another and then back at Charlie. From the other room, Carlisle's ears perked up when he overheard their conversation. The boys also listened in wondering what news Charlie had and what information Edward was about to provide.

"We're just in the dark as you, but I'm pretty sure of what you're investigators will find on the bodies. There seems to be someone causing a bit of trouble lately. We're going to have to figure out how we can put an end to it before it gets too out of hand."

The fact that forensics would now be involved was a serious matter. Vampires that have been in the game long enough, know to dispose of their victims. The Cullen's knew that more than half of missing person's cases was usually the result of a vampire attack; their bodies drained and the evidence destroyed. No body- no proof… until now. Two of the victims found dead had been drained of their blood and left with bite marks. An investigation opened on this case could cause havoc for the Cullens and expose their kind. Something they distinctly wanted to avoid.

The Volturi always kept strict population control on their kind. No one allowed to step out of line; newborn or not. It was a zero tolerance policy. Anyone caught being disobedient was terminated at once, no excuses. These rules kept the vampires protected for hundreds of years, allowing them to remain hidden from the human world but still allowed them to feed as they needed. All this was changing now that there was no one to keep the order. New borns being created and killing carelessly would certainly start to draw attention to them. The Cullens feared the thought of one of them being tracked and caught somehow. They already had one close call at the hospital. They didn't know how many more events like that could be happening outside of their knowledge.

As Charlie wrapped up his discourse regarding the situation at hand, Edward picked up on the real reason why he was at the house, just before he was about to ask.

"So any word on Seth? I've been so busy I haven't had the chance to stop by the hospital to see him. Sue said he's making progress though." Charlie said.

Edward and Carlisle both froze, unsure of how they were going to explain this one to him _and_ on top of the other situation they were going to have to explain as soon as he laid his eyes on Renesmee. Last he saw her she barely even showed any signs of being pregnant, now she clearly looked full term.

Carlisle decided he would start. "Uh, actually Charlie there's a few things we'll probably have to explain to you. Seth had already been discharged in my care. Tara is caring for him over at Edward's place right now but he's not quite ready for visitors just yet."

"Huh… really? Because I stopped over there just before coming here and no one answered the door," Charlie said.

Edward relaxed. He figured Tara must've been able to keep Seth under control long enough till Charlie gave up and left, figuring no one was home; that is until the next thing came out of his mouth.

"There was a note on the door though…wasn't sure who it was for but it said something about heading up toOlympic Falls. I thought maybe you guys took a trip or something."

Edward groaned. "No…no we did not. But we're about to, apparently."

Charlie just gave him a confused look. "Uh…should I be worried?" he asked.

"No…not yet anyway," he said to him. Then turned to his sister. "You know about this?" he asked Alice.

She shook her head. "Actually I kinda tuned them out and started focusing on other stuff. I got a glimpse of them last night and that was enough for me."

"What happened _last_ night?" Edward asked.

"Uh…well, let just say you might wanna go shopping for a new bed."

Emmett snickered from the back of the room. Edward just smoldered. He was already in a bleak mood, but now things just went completely south for him. "Bella, I think we'll need you in case Tara is cloaked. Alice, you're coming too," he fumed.

The girls both nodded, eager to help and the boys were already set to follow. Charlie still had no idea what they were all planning to do but just before he could ask any more questions about it, Jacob came around the corner. "Hi Charlie," he said casually walking in. He'd thought he detected the familiar voice from the other room.

"Hey Jacob," he perked. "I didn't even know you were here. How's Ness doing?" he asked.

Jacob looked at the others to see if Charlie knew anything yet. Edward shook his head. Then Jacob put his arm around Charlie's shoulder. "Actually…Charlie…we have a bit of a surprise for you."

The sun showed up just at the right time, making their afternoon complete as Seth and Tara lay side by side, basking in the warm ray of light. While Tara lay on her back looking up at the sky, Seth lay on his side next to her. He held a small wild flower in his fingers that he'd found growing between the rocks. Starting from her head and tracing the outline of her face and lips with it, he then let his hand travel down the front of her body, gently sweeping it over her skin. His eyes took in every inch of her body, studying every radiant feature and perfect detail realizing he could spend hours like this, just staring at her without words. Tara giggled noticing what he was doing.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"This is how I spent most of my nights, watching you. Sometimes I'd do that with my fingers, so lightly you never noticed. I could watch you forever and not get bored."

He smiled. "I get it now."

"So are you enjoying your day?" she asked.

"Emphatically…Thank you for trusting me."

She chuckled. "Well in case you hadn't noticed, I sorta brought you to the most secluded area I could think of. I didn't want to take any chances."

"You let me hunt though."

"Mmm, so I did. And how was that experience for you?"

"Still nothing compared to last night…or this morning…or ten minutes ago…" he started to laugh. "…but it was great. I like hunting with you. It's no longer, me watching you or you watching me; it's an experience we share now."

She winced. "Oh Seth…you shouldn't glamorize it like that. I've made you a predator; it's not like eating at the local diner. When you crave your first human, you won't see it as such a positive thing."

Seth's expression hardened and his smile disappeared. "I fear that the most," he said in a low voice, looking down.

"Just try and keep those thoughts in your head when you do. If you can use that fear to help you control it, you'll be okay."

His eyes lifted and looked right through her and she touched his face. "You're truly my guilty pleasure you know," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"Before I turned you I felt like I took you away from something, like I didn't deserve you but wanted you… badly. And I took you despite the costs. Now, even though I hate myself for having made you this way, I can't help favoring you being…more like me."

He smiled at her confession. "I volunteered for this role. So don't feel guilty about it."

One impulse Seth had no control over was the one that drew him into her. He had little control over his extemporaneous yearning for her but she didn't seem to mind at all when he succumbed to those cravings.

After they climbed out of the water, returning to the other side, they took their time getting dressed and heading back. Tara let Seth have some fun climbing some of the tall red- woods of the forest. He leaped from limb to limb like Tarzan, swinging from the branches. He could vault his body across long distances, flipping in the air at incredulous heights. His new strengths abilities completely blew his mind, unable to fathom the new sensations he experienced.

"Hey, you wanna race back the rest of the way?" he challenged her.

"You're on!" she grinned.

He gave her a head start knowing he'd be able to beat her easily and sure enough he passed right by her but he led only far enough ahead to where she was still able to see him. He flew through the forest, leaping over fallen trees and ravines with perfect adroitness, even remembering the route back to where they parked, like he'd done it a thousand times.

When the car was within a viewable distance, he noticed something was off. The driver's side window had been punched through.

"Damn! Someone broke into the car!" he said running up to the passenger side and stopping. He spotted the large rock on the seat that someone had used to break the glass. The stereo had been ripped out of the console and he growled with anger.

Tara ran to the driver's side but it had no damage. She pulled the keys out of her pocket and clicked the unlock button. The car beeped. But before she went to touch the handle, she noticed the smell and the scorching dryness in her throat. She instantly looked over at Seth whose wide eyes were completely fixated on the door.

"Seth?" she said wondering what he looked at.

He touched the shards of glass at the top of the window with his fingers and then raised his hand up, staring at it with a frenzied look in his eyes. It was wet with blood – _fresh human blood._

"Whoever broke the window…cut their hand on the glass." His hand trembled as he inhaled the scent of the sweet fragrance that compelled him.

"Hold your breath!" she ordered, then she ran to the window and ripped out the glass and told him to get in the car quickly, but when she turned back around, he was already gone.

"_NO"! _She thought, taking off into the forest after him. He was so far ahead she couldn't even see him. She tracked the scent of blood through the forest until she came upon dead body in her path laying face down. It was a young man. There were smears of blood all over his face and arms but she instantly noticed two things; the bite mark on is broken neck and the cuts on his hand from where he'd sliced it open on the car window.

"Seth!" she screamed and starting running again. Suddenly she heard a shriek coming from up head. The shrill scream echoed through the forest. "_Oh God no!_" She thought the worst.

Seth hurdled over the dense brush and thick umbrage, following the woman's scent like a driving force that compelled him. Her sweet aroma was so strong he didn't even notice the other smell at first; the strong feral odor that was getting stronger by the second. It started to burn his nose. But when he finally caught up with source of his compulsion, he paused. His aggression hindered by the sight of a girl begging for her life. Instinctively he launched his body at her attacker and landed on him before the new born could make his kill.

He landed on the vampire, grabbing it by the neck and forcing it to release its victim. The girl fell to the ground crying and breathing heavily. Tears ran down her face as she feared for her life as she now looked at two sets of blood red eyes staring at her with intense hunger. As she crawled backwards keeping her eyes on them both, she saw a third one coming straight for her and she screamed. Seth's maniacal stare sent a surge of terror right through her. He wanted her blood –badly, but he resisted. A growl came deep from inside his chest. "RUN!" he snarled at her through his teeth.

Utterly terrified, she stood up and fled as fast as she could.

Seth took hold the vampire's head with all his fury and he twisted it until it was completely severed from its body. He felt a sudden rush of satisfaction from his kill.

Just then, his senses picked up and something that was coming at him from behind. The feral odor surrounded him from all directions - it was the pack. Just as he turned his head to look behind him, he shockingly realized he was too late to stop Leah from attacking. Tara had been so distracted watching Seth she didn't have time to react and before she could cloak, Leah was on top of her and knocking her flat on her back into the ground. The last thing she saw was the set of teeth that sunk into her throat before they ripped it out. Tara's body instantly went limp.

"NO! LEEEAAAH! NO!" Seth screamed, charging at her. He slammed his body into the wolf, knocking her off Tara's body but he was too late to save her.

The rest of the pack stood in a circle around them witnessing the entire event.

"_Oh my gosh! Leah just killed Tara! I can't believe she just killed her!_" Embry said.

"_What do we do Sam"_ Paul asked. "_Do we attack?"_

"_The second he moves we stop him" _Sam ordered_._

"_We can't stop him! He'll kill us Sam" _Quil said_._

"_He didn't kill those people…did you all see that other blood sucker? He killed it and let the girl go". _Embry said_._

"_Oh man this is bad, Leah shouldn't have done that". _Quil added_. "Poor Seth."_

Seth turned and looked down at Tara's broken body. It was as though someone had shoved a dagger through his heart when he saw her lying there motionless and broken in two. He let out a bellow that shook the trees - one so loud it was painful to the wolves' ears. Then he suddenly turned all his rage onto Leah and lunged for her.

"_Look out! He's gonna kill Leah" _Paul shouted_. _

"_NO" _Embry shouted.

"_We have to stop him." _Sam demanded_._

The pack began to charge except for Quil and Embry. They stood watching, unsure of what to do, but they knew they didn't want to kill their friend. Seth held Leah by the throat snarling angrily. Paul and Sam tried to get him off of her but Seth simply knocked them off with no effort at all.

"_Oh my god Quil…Seth's killing Leah. He's gonna snap her neck_!" Embry cried.

Leah howled and cried struggling with him until her air was cut off and she could only whimper. Seth's hands trembled as he gripped her tightly. He could have already killed her by now but he was resisting. He simply couldn't do it, even though he was thinking it. His anger started to turn to anguish and he collapsed to the ground, finally releasing her. He fell to his knees and covered his face with his hands in his face, putting his head to the ground.

"Why…why…" he sobbed in a low voice.

Leah slumped to the ground at first but then backed away. She and the others just stood, staring at him disheartened now. They were at a loss at what to do. An overwhelming sense of guilt came over Leah as she watched her brother suffering for what she'd done.

Suddenly the wolves realized they were surrounded by vampires. They were glad it was the good ones this time though and very relieved to see the Cullens.

Alice had helped Edward locate Seth's car and then they followed the blood trail on foot to the first dead body, staying on the path until they came upon the disaster zone in their midst; Seth as curled up into a ball weeping, Tara's broken body laid lifeless on the ground and there was also another unidentified dead body off to the side. The wolves all looked scared now, wondering why their reaction to all this would be. Edward immediately scanned everyone's minds trying to get answers to what had happened.

Bella cried out when she saw Tara and buried her face in Edward's arms. "Shh it's okay," he comforted her. Then he turned to Jasper and Emmett. "Take care of Tara," he instructed them.

"Oh, my gosh Edward..." Bella gasped. "Did _Seth_ do all this?"

Edward concentrated. "No…. He didn't. He actually _saved_ someone from that other vampire. He killed this one so she could get away."

Bella's jaw dropped. "He _saved_ someone?"

Jasper and Emmett knelt down next to Tara's body, observing the damage. "Um…so...you ever do this before?" Emmett asked him.

"Nope. I only know how to take them apart," Jasper replied. JHe had plenty experience destroying vampires and he always made sure he finished the job knowing vampires could regenerate, though he'd never actually witnessed it.

"How hard can it be?" Emmett shrugged.

Alice rolled her eyes and moaned. "Ugh! Could you guys try being a little more sensitive please," she snapped.

"Sorry Alice, I'm not really an emotional kinda guy," Emmett added. "But don't worry, Jazz and I got this handled. Maybe someone should go make sure Romeo over there doesn't try run off and do anything rash…he looks like he's having a meltdown."

Seth didn't hear any of the discourse going on over by his wife's body. He ignored everything around him completely and only contemplated one idea at the moment. Edward finally knelt down next to him to try and talk to him. "Seth…" he spoke softly. "Can you hear me?"

Seth quieted himself upon hearing Edward's voice. He lifted his head and let his hands fall limp at his sides. "Edward…"

He put his hand on Seth's shoulder. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. I wish we had arrived sooner," he said.

"Edward, I don't care how…just find a way to destroy me. I don't want to live anymore."

Edward smirked. "Mmm, I don't really think you'll want me to do that."

Seth looked over at him and frowned when he saw his face. It disturbed him that Edward found humor in his situation. "I'm serious. I don't want to exist without her. I have no purpose being like this if she's not in my life. I don't care if I have to hurl myself into a volcano….if you don't do it, I'll find a way."

"Seth, if you would just let me explain before you decide to run off and hurt yourself, I think you'll…"

Before Edward could even finish his sentence the wolves started barking and snarling frantically. Without even looking, he knew what they were in hysterics about and he quickly snapped around, grabbing the angry raging vampire that headed for Leah.

"_Holy cow! How did she do that? She was just in pieces." _Quil shouted, though Edward was the only vampire that heard it. The others only heard barking and growls_. _

"_So what is she a zombie now?" _Embry cried.

"_No, dummy!...don't you remember"? They can come back to life if you don't burn em_. Paul said_._

"_Uh! Gross!" _They both thought in unison_. _

Tara snarled and clawed trying to get loose of Edward's grip but Bella helped him hold her back so she wouldn't kill the wolf she targeted in her sights.

Seth's eyes nearly fell out of his head when he saw her – _alive _now. His jaw dropped and he sucked in a breath wondering if any of this was even real anymore.

"Tara! Calm yourself! Edward demanded.

Leah started to back up feeling anxious now. But Tara's rage soon evaporated the moment she saw the shock and horror in Seth's face from all of this. "I'm okay, release me," she said trying to pull Edward's arm off her. Once he felt she wasn't going to attack anymore, he and Bella let go.

She approached Seth and knelt down in front of him. "I'm sorry you witnessed that. Are you okay?" She touched his face.

"You're …alive," he looked at her completely perplexed at what he just saw.

"I know. We can do that, remember?" she gave him a tiny smile.

"I…I didn't even think of it."

"Of course you didn't. It was too traumatic for you."

"No kidding! You like had you're whole head ripped off!" Emmett blurted out. Alice nudged his ribs but he barely noticed. Tara just ignored his comment. She was used to Emmett's twisted sense of humor.

Seth took her hand in his. "Did you die?" he asked.

Her smile flattened in to a straight line and she shook her head. "No, I was more like … suspended."

"Wow, what was that like?" Emmett blurted out.

Tara cocked her eye brows and rolled her eyes. "It didn't feel good. I don't recommend trying it."

"_Sick_!" he chuckled. "Hey you're welcome by the way." He grinned.

"Ugh! Hush already Em…they're having a moment," Alice hushed him.

Seth noticed the wolves were all still curiously watching him. Then he turned his head and looked for his sister, but she was gone.

"Where's Leah?" he asked.

Edward nodded his head at the forest indicating the direction she ran in. "She left. She's not too far yet."

Seth stood up ready to go after her. "I have to find her and talk to her. If I don't forgive her, Jake will abjure for disobeying and she'll have no one. I don't want her to be all alone."

"It's okay Seth. I trust you'll be fine on your own," Edward said.

Tara started to follow him but Edward grabbed her arm, not letting her run off so fast. "Uh, don't assume that today's events will make me forget about what you both did to my house," he said in a displeased tone.

"_Crap!" _Tara thought.

Seth followed Leah's scent till he finally found her sitting alone at the base of a tree. She had her knees tucked into her chest with her face buried in them, sobbing. It pained him to see her so dejected.

She was startled, hearing the snap of a twig under his foot as he approached. Her head quickly snapped up.

"Leah wait," he said before she could run off. "Let me talk to you," he begged.

She sat still with dismal expression on her face. Seth cautiously walked closer to her until he was right in front of her. She looked away as he sat down next to her.

"Leah…talk to me please. It's killing me that we're like this."

Her lip trembled and she started to tear up. He reached out and touched her chin to turn her head. "Look at me," he said. The feel of his icy handle stunned her and she gasped pulling away. She glared right at his eyes.

"Do you really hate me that much now that I'm one of them?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I don't hate you. I just hate seeing you like this…what's she's done to you. You're not even one of us anymore."

"Leah it's me…look at me! I'm still you're brother," he touched her arm, realizing how unbelievably hot she was. He never realized that was how he felt to Tara all that time.

"You're so cold," she lamented. "It's eerie."

He frowned and pulled his hand back, feeling diffident. "I can't change this. It's what I am. Why can't you just accept it and let me live my life?"

"Live? You call this _living_?" She suddenly snapped at him. "What did you _eat_ today Seth? Did you hunt with your _vampire_? Did she show you how to kill and drink blood? What about those humans? Did you desire to hunt them too?" She could see the guilt in his expression. It _was _what he desired.

"I hunt vampires Seth. "So I can't cope with my brother _being_ one."

He scowled at her. "Well gosh Leah, I'm really sorry _you're_ having a hard time dealing with me being a vampire!" he snapped. "Have you thought at all how I might be feeling about all this…how it's affecting _me_?"

She was taken aback by his reaction. "But… I thought this is what you wanted?"

"What I wanted …was to _not_ be dead. I didn't expect this to happen…at least not so soon. But it is what it is. At least I get to be with Tara always now, that's what matters to me most."

"It matters to you more than being with me or mom?"

"Leah, I wouldn't even _be_ here right now if it were for this. I'd be in the ground. Can't you just be happy to have me here, even if it's like this?"

"What about mom? Do you know how it's affecting her? She can't even come see you."

"I'm aware. You think it doesn't hurt me to know that I can't go anywhere near my own mother without thinking about…" he couldn't even finish his sentence. He exhaled before continuing. "It'll get better. Bella does it. I know I can. I just need time."

Tears rolled down her face.

"You have no idea how much I envy you right now," he said looking at her wet face.

"Why?"

"Because… you can _do_ that. I've been wanting to just let it all out and I can't. It's so frustrating. You have no idea how difficult this change is for me."

She started feeling remorse for all the pain she'd caused now. "I guess I shouldn't have been so cruel. I'm sorry," she said reaching out to take his hand. It felt chilled, as though he'd been playing in snow but much smoother and hard like granite stone. She'd never touched one of them before. It was an unusual experience for her.

He smirked at her. "You smell really gross by the way."

Leah couldn't control the laugh that came out when he teased her. She knew for sure now that he was really all there, still her little brother. She shook her head. "I hate you," she said jokingly for spoiling her dramatic moment.

He knew he had her now. He reached up to touch her face and brushed the hair from her eyes so she would look at him. "Well, I really _love_ you."

The waterworks came on again. She leaned in and hugged him tightly.

Seth felt relieved now that she showed him some acceptance. "We're still on the same team you know," he whispered.

"Let's keep it that way," she said.


	28. Chapter 28

**Temptations**

The Cullen's needed to destroy the body of the new born vampire which immediately caused a dispute between them and the pack. Jasper was willing to dispose of the body but Sam argued that it should be left and taken care of by the authorities. But leaving the body would give the police more evidence which could lead them right to the Cullen's or even the wolves since they both been equally all over the area leaving foot prints, fur and other possible clues. Edward tried to convince Sam and the pack that they needed to be to be much more careful that that. He also pointed out that it would be much easier for their coven to simply pick up and move, disappearing from existence if need be. Not that they wanted to but if they were faced with the decision, they were willing to do what was necessary order to survive. The pack however, was well rooted on the reservation. Going in hiding or leaving was not an option for them therefore Edward suggested they worked together to resolve this problem and focus on keeping their secrets from the public for their safety.

Sam wasn't happy about the plan but he went along with it for the time being. He and the other reluctantly left the scene to allow the vampires to clean up. They wanted no part in covering up the evidence. Tara and Jasper were best at hiding evidence so they took care of the bodies. Edward cleaned up and destroyed the bloodied glass while Alice, Emmett and Bella combed the area any other clues that might be left behind. By the time Seth returned, they were all finished. He was surprised at how well they managed to remove all traces of being there. He realized now how vampires had covered their tracks for years and remained undiscovered for so long.

Tara and Seth took the car back to Forks while the others traveled on foot. Edward decided it would be best to park the car in their garage for a while and make sure that Seth stay out of sight. They all crossed their fingers hoping the incident wouldn't cause more trouble for them but unfortunately their day was about to get even more complicated. When Tara pulled into the long driveway that led up to the Cullen's house, she and Seth immediately spotted Charlie's police car with Charlie at the wheel. As the cruiser slowly moved in their direction, Charlie's spotted the both of them and quickly identified the car and plates. Nothing gets by the Chief of Police in this town. His memory was like vault.

"Oh great. Wonder what he's doing here?" Seth grumbled.

Tara became nervous. "Let's hope he's only visiting." But as quickly as she said that, Charlie's car came to a screeching halt.

"Oh no. Don't turn around," Seth mumbled, but it was too late. Charlie's car reversed back into their direction.

Tara sighed. "He's coming back," she warned, looking at him n the rearview mirror. She continued to drive the car into the garage but Charlie followed and pulled up right behind them, staring with a baffled expression.

Seth kept his head forward not making any eye contact when Charlie stepped out of his vehicle and walked into the garage towards them. Since the car window on the passenger side was completely removed Charlie's scent wafted through the air, penetrating Seth's throat like a hot a poker. His hands clutched the dash board and his fingers dug into the vinyl. He squeezed his eyes shut tight, fighting the pain.

"Try not to breathe. It helps," Tara said.

Charlie look at Seth through the open window oddly confused. "Seth?" Is that you? I almost didn't recognize you. You okay?" he asked him.

Seth didn't want to speak, knowing he could taste the air that carried Charlie's delicious scent. The silence confused Charlie though. He became concerned, wondering what was wrong with him. Tara just cheerfully smiled and decided to distract his attention. "Hey Charlie. Seth's not feeling too well. I'm just talking him into the house to see Carlisle."

Charlie had been so busy at work he felt guilty for not taking the time to go see him in the hospital. He knew Seth's condition had been very serious but he'd heard from Sue that he was making great progress thanks to the care of Dr. Cullen. It surprised Charlie to see Seth out and about already though after hearing the tragic details of his fall into the canyon from the park rangers that rescued him. Charlie put his head down closer to the window so he could see them both. His face was very close to Seth's now. In fact, too close.

"Hi Tara…" he nodded. "What's wrong… can't he talk?"

Seth suddenly spoke in a low tone. "Charlie…" he groaned.

The Chief looked very surprised upon hearing his voice. It didn't sound quite right.

"Could you not stand so close…" he continued in an aching tone.

As he observed Seth's condition, it looked obvious to him that he was in some pain but assumed it was only from his injuries. He didn't quite understand the request Seth made but he complied anyway and stood back up just before taking a few small steps back from the car, never taking his eyes off him though. "You don't sound so good son. You better get some rest…you're looking kinda pale," he observed.

The remark made Seth smirk. "I'm okay…I'd appreciate it if you stand back some more though. I have something to show you," he said.

This made Charlie even more curious now and at his request, he moved even further away taking several more steps back, waiting to see what he was going to show him.

Tara grabbed her husband's arm. "You don't have to do this. I can have him leave. I'll tell him you're not well enough."

Seth didn't even notice she was talking low enough that Charlie couldn't hear. He put his hand over hers, giving her a look of confidence. "I'm okay. I can do this," and then grabbed the handle.

"Do you want me to do something about your eyes?" she asked him.

"No…it's fine. I want him to see me."

Seth slowly opened the door and stepped out of the car, keeping his head down at first. Then when he stood directly in front Charlie, he raised his chin and stared right at him. Charlie's eyes grew as big as saucers when he saw Seth's face. He tried blinking several times thinking there was something was wrong with his vision. Nothing changed.

"Wh-what happened to you? What's wrong with your eyes?"

"Well…uh," Seth paused trying to think how to explain. "Do you remember when Bella came home from her honeymoon and they told you she was very sick and you couldn't see her?" he asked.

Charlie nodded, still staring in a daze at him, his mouth agape.

"Well…that happened to me too."

Charlie was even more confused now. "But… why?"

As soon as Tara had stepped out of the car to stand by her husband she took his hand in hers and Charlie immediately spotted the shiny gold rings on their fingers and cocked his head to the side. "Wait…are those _wedding_ rings?" he asked. Can't get anything past Charlie.

Seth's eyes panned down realizing what Charlie had seen. Then he smiled a tiny bit and looked him in the eyes again. "Yes, they are."

"And when did _this_ happen?" he pried, piecing the events together.

"On my birthday. We were keeping it a secret."

"Does Sue know about all this…this change … and the marriage?" he asked.

"She does, but she only just found out while I was still in the hospital."

"Okay..okay wait.. lemme get this straight…is there something about marrying a Cullen that makes you have to….uh…_do_ this?" he waved his hand signaling at his appearance. It seemed to be an unusual coincidence that both Bella and Seth married a Cullen and ended up in the same situation.

Seth just shook his head as he answered. "No. I understand why you might think that but it was purely a matter of circumstance…you see, I was never going to walk out of that hospital Charlie. I was too damaged in the fall so this was the only solution."

He started to put the puzzle together now. Though Charlie didn't understand all the specifics involved, he realized there had to be a good reason for Seth to go through such drastic measures or he never would have volunteered.

"So… this is a good thing for you then?"

Seth nodded. "If you consider me _not _being dead a good thing, then _yes,_" he answered.

Just then, the others showed up at the house and immediately spotted Charlie's car near the garage. Edward hoped he'd be gone by now but when he heard Charlie and Seth's voices, he bolted to the garage in a panic. Bella and the others followed thinking there had to be something wrong but when they all looked in at the three of them they were all amazed to see Seth calmly talking to Charlie. They all stood there staring, completely perplexed by Seth's behavior. Bella stealthy snuck into the garage to get a closer look. Her father didn't even notice at first when she slipped in next to him until he caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye and then turned his head.

"Bells!" he said completely started. "Don't do that, you'll give me a heart attack!"

"Sorry dad. I wanted to see how you were taking the news about Seth."

His eyes narrowed. "You _kne_w about this?"

"Um yeah …I kinda got the inside scoop, ya know,"

"Right. …Well I guess you're all just full of surprises for me today. Is there anything else you plan on springing on me?"

"No, I think we covered it all," she said, leaving out the events they just returned from.

Charlie stared at the two of them standing together making observations. "So I guess now, I have two of you… like _this_."

Bella glanced over at Seth and then put an arm around him. "Hey, I've always wanted a little brother," she grinned. "Don't worry dad, everything will be just the same as always."

"Mmm, the same as always eh?"

"Yup." She nodded.

"Well, it sure seems the less I try to find out about anything, the more I _do_ find out." He sighed but his curiosity kept getting the better of him. "You're eyes are different from theirs." he noticed looking at Seth's red irises.

"It's normal… at first. They'll change to look like the others."

"Hmm. That's interesting. They're kinda spooky…like something out of a horror movie."

Seth' cocked an eyebrow and pressed his lips together trying to smother a grin.

"But how is it…?" he started to ask remembering Bella just after the honeymoon. Her eyes were brown.

"No…never mind. I don't wanna know. Just as long as you're okay and Sue is happy. Let's just leave it at that," he added.

Charlie preferred to know as little as possible about their secrets. He just went along with their stories asking very few questions of them.

"Well I suppose I better be getting back to work. I just wanted to check on you. Glad to see you're okay." He said casually. Charlie was much like his daughter. He was good with weird. As he started to turn and leave, Seth thought of something to ask him.

"Hey, wait Charlie."

Charlie stopped and looked back.

"How's mom doing?" he worried.

Charlie sighed, thinking of his busy schedule. It bothered him that he'd been spending so much time away from home. "Haven't seen her much lately…been so tied up at work. She's bringing me dinner at the station tonight though. I'll tell her you seem well. I'm sure she'll wanna come see you."

"Oh um, well…" Seth panicked. He knew that might not be such good idea but he couldn't let Charlie know why he was afraid to see her.

"That okay?" Charlie asked.

Seth nodded. "Yeah. It's okay but, just…. tell her I love her please?"

"Will do," he said as he got in the car and then drove off.

Once Charlie was far enough down the road, Seth relaxed. He loosened his grip on Tara's hand and she shook it out. He held it rather tightly.

"Sorry." He told her.

"It's okay." She smiled and then wrapped her arms around him. "I'm really proud of you."

"I knew you could do it!" Bella hugged him.

"Thanks. I don't think I could have done it without everyone's help. But you were both right…when I opened my eyes and saw his face, I realized…_its Charlie._ The need to the need to protect him outweighed the desire for his blood. It wasn't worth it to me anymore."

The rest of the family stood just outside the garage, awed by his control - especially Jasper. Each of them wandered in slowly, following Edward who had a clear view of Seth's mind giving him a better understanding of Seth's actions.

"I feel I have a good idea of what you experienced the first time you met with your father," he said to Bella. Then he turned to Seth.

"Even though it was painful for you, you managed to reason with yourself - something newborns are usually incapable of because once the drive to hunt takes over, nothing else matters. You've managed to overcome this. It's truly incredible."

"That's also two for two," Tara reminded them.

"Maybe we'll be able to get to go back home soon then." Seth smiled at his wife. "That is, if I can just get the pack to trust me."

Upon mentioning that, Edward was suddenly reminded about his bed. "Mmm, yes I believe that would be a very good idea considering you don't seem to display the same restraint when it comes to _other_ things." He frowned.

"Uh…oh…" Seth would have blushed if he could have, realizing what Edward meant by his comment. He remembered the bed collapsing and the image of it in his mind made Edward grumble.

"Ha!" Emmett snorted. "Yeah… I heard you wrecked the place!" Emmett held his fist out for a knuckle bump but Seth just stared at him wide eyed and a little embarrassed.

Bella grabbed Emmett's hand and shoved it back. "_Really_?" she frowned.

"What? You can't blame the guy, he's new! Don't be so hard on him," he said trying to defend Seth.

"Yeah, about that… I'll take care of the damages..." Seth offered.

Edward abruptly held up his hand and stopped him from talking. " Not necessary," he thought for a moment. "Your auto services would be greatly appreciated as I need them in the future," he reminded him.

"Oh, of course." Seth realized he probably owed him several years of services now.

Tara was already thinking about the idea of returning to their home. Since Seth did so well with Charlie she hoped they could persuade Jacob in to letting them return to their house.

"So are we welcome inside now? I think Seth has proven he can handle himself around humans."

Edward considered her request and then turned to Jasper for his advice.

"I think he's doing exceptionally well. I don't think there's much need to worry. I can stay close just in case I sense anything," Jasper said.

Though Edward grasped a clear picture of Seth's mind, he was still torn about allowing him near his daughter even with Jasper's recommendation. Bella stepped closer to her husband and put her hand on Edward's chest.

"You recall the moment I met her don't you?" she asked him.

He ran the event through his own mind recalling the first moment Bella held her baby in her arms. The recollection made him smile.

"It's fine. Trust me. If I handle it then think Seth is perfectly qualified. I know how much he loves Renesmee," she reminded him.

Edward knew that for a fact. She was like a sister to him. He touched Bella's face and trusted her instinct. "Okay. Let's go inside."

As they brought Seth in, he stopped at the inside of the entry and took a deep breath first. The scent in the air caused some aggravation, but nothing like when Charlie stood in front of him. He cautiously proceeded to follow Edward. The garage door shut behind him and he walked down the hall and up the stairs to the second level. He could hear the faint sound of a heart beat but it wasn't anything like he'd heard before when Jacob was hooked up to a hospital monitor. This one had a distinct swishing sound. The scent of Renesmee was also getting stronger now, as well as Jacob's. He was actually quite happy that Jacob was there because his smell almost dominated the place, irritating his nose. Finally as they came around the corner, he spotted the bed centered in the room with Renesmee reclined in it, propped up with pillows. Jacob sat next to her as they watched a movie together. The moment Renesmee saw her friend come into view though, she shouted his name. "Seth!" she gasped in surprise.

Jacob suddenly turned and became infuriated. He quickly darted towards him before he could get any closer. "NO, NO, NO! Are you nuts? Get out!" he shouted as he shoved Seth, looking him fiercely in the eyes.

Seth scowled. The sudden rejection from his friend hurt but he understood. He knew he probably would do the same thing if it was him though he still didn't like being shoved and though the sudden threat angered him he forced himself to remain calm. Fortunately Renesmee interrupted before the two of them got into a fight.

"Jake, relax! Seth's not gonna eat me! Are you Seth?' she said smiling at him.

Her statement amused him and lightened the mood, but only a tad. Seth smiled back, trying not to chuckle. "Um, no…that that's not my intention," he replied, still trying not to breathe.

Jacob trembled as he stared him down. He didn't find the joke about eating his wife funny one bit, even if she wasthe one to blurt it out.

Edward finally intervened. "Calm down Jake, if you phase and start something you could end up hurting Ness yourself," he said.

"Then why did you even let him in here? It's too dangerous!"

"Because he just stood not ten feet from Charlie and had a conversation with him. I listened to his thoughts the entire time and he displayed an impressive amount of control. I don't think Ness is going to be a temptation for him."

Jake's eyes widened and he froze. "Charlie, _saw_ you?"

Seth nodded his head rapidly.

"Like _this_?" he asked again pointing his finger at his appearance.

"Yes. He knows. I just explained to him that it was a life or death decision."

This news threw Jacob for a loop. "Wow. Well…what did he say?" he asked curious now.

"He seemed okay with it, although he really didn't want too many details. I just told him I'm more like Bella now. I gotta give the guy a lot of credit. He really handles all this stuff pretty well."

Jacob rubbed the back of his tensed neck. "Yeah well…now we know where Bella gets it from." He tried to crack a tiny smile but it was quickly wiped away the moment he saw Seth's expression change and his wide eyes that were diverted past him. Jacob snapped around only to see his wife had gotten out of bed and was waddling towards them, eager to greet her friends.

"Ness! Get back!" he ordered throwing a hand up to signal for her to stop.

"Ugh please! The babies need to stretch out and my legs are cramping. I'm totally fine!" she told him stubbornly.

Tara and Seth both stood motionless staring at Renesmee's drastic changes in appearance. Their eyes widened as she neared them with a happy smile on her face. It seemed like weeks since they last seen her but looking at Renesmee now, you'd think several months had passed. The two of them gasped simultaneously. And while they both looked at her Renesmee stared back, amazed by the changes in Seth.

"Wow! Look at you!" she said taking in his new appearance. She almost couldn't believe it as she stared into his red eyes and notably pallor complexion. Then she suddenly realized he and Tara were both giving her the oddest looks.

"What?" she demanded to know.

Tara and Seth both looked at each other and then back at Renesmee. " You're… so...um…" Seth thought to be careful about his choice of words as he gaped at Renesmee's protruding belly. "…pregnant," he finished.

Renesmee started to frown.

"I _love_ your new hair!" Tara said trying to save her husband and change the subject quickly. "How are you feeling?"

She smiled at the compliment. "Perfect! Healthy as ever and the boys are doing great."

"Um, _boys_?" Seth's eyebrows went up. He had been away too long, he thought.

It only startled him at first when Renesmee stepped close enough to touch him and reached for his cheek. The second he felt her warm finger tips on his skin though, he saw everything he'd missed since his transformation. For the first time her skin felt unnaturally hot to him. It was a strange feeling to feel such warmth on her fingertips. Just below the surface of the skin, he detected her pulse and the feel of her blood rushing though her veins. It almost distracted him from the vision but he managed to ignore it and enjoy everything she showed him. He smiled as the visions ran through his head.

The tension in the room shrunk as they both chuckled. While the three of them reunited, Edward was the first to realize his daughter's safety around Seth wasn't going to be an issue. Her blood was not human enough to trigger a reaction and the amniotic sack around the babies was so dense it completely masked their scent. Jacob relaxed as he watched his old friend interact with Renesmee just like he used to before the change. For the first time he was able to relax and enjoy the company of his friend again. Within a few hours of being around him, he started to believe the change wasn't going to be as much of a problem as he originally thought, that was until he heard the car pull up in the driveway.

Edward was the first one at the door. Everyone heard the door of the car slam shut and the scurry of Sue's feet as she ran up the walkway and headed for the house. It startled her when the door it flew open, seeing Edward's unhappy face in the entrance. "Sue, you shouldn't risk coming here. Seth's too new to be put through so much temptation."

"I-I know. I'm sorry. Charlie told me he saw him today and I really just need to see my son."

"You have to understand, it's painful for him to be near humans, especially right now."

"Painful?" The last thing she wanted was to cause her son anymore pain.

"It's your blood. The smell it causes discomfort when we're….thirsty."

Sue's eyes widened as the words sank in. Edward could hear her fearful thoughts. "I'm sorry to have to put it in that perspective but it's exactly what he's experiencing right now."

It was too late however. From inside, Seth already detected his mother's presence. "Mom?" he called out.

"Seth!" she cried upon hearing his voice.

When Seth leaped up, Jacob and Tara both grabbed his arms and Emmett and Jasper stood in his path between him and the door. The scent of Sue's blood set his throat a blaze. He squeezed his eyes shut and concentrated hard, trying to remember as many human memories as he could; memories of his mother, hoping they would deter him from his desires to feed. Tara moved directly in front of him, putting her hands on his face and stroking his cheek.

"You okay?" she asked

"Gonna find out," he said just before taking in a deep breath. Tara gripped his shoulders, worried about his reaction to the scent of her blood. She knew it was a lot for a newborn to handle in one day. He paused for a moment and then slowly exhaled as he opened his eyes. Then he nodded. Letting them know he was ready.

Though Tara could tell he was in a state of discomfort, he was still very calm. "You don't have to do this you know. You have plenty of time to prepare."

"I know, but…I wanna see her." He looked over at the door. "I think I can do this." There was a confidence in his voice.

Tara looked at Jacob for reassurance but he only shrugged his shoulders, unsure of what to do.

"Seth," Renesmee chimed in. "I know you can do this. I know you won't hurt your mom."

He turned back around and faced his friend and smiled. Then he did something they didn't expect, he leaned in and kissed her on the forehead.

"Thank you Ness." Her words gave him even more courage.

Realizing there was no changing Seth's mind now, Edward turned to Sue and opened the door wider. "Come in Mrs. Clearwater, your son wants to see you."

She looked at him nervously and then stepped through the doorway. As she turned the corner she spotted Renesmee and Jacob and the other Cullens as they hovered around her. She didn't even recognize her son until he spoke. "Mom." Was the only word that came out of his mouth and then she finally realized it was really him.

Tara and Jacob still held onto his arms. His read eyes stood out from across the room, staring into hers. She gasped and put her hands to her face and the tears began to well up in her eyes.

"Aw mom, don't…don't cry. It's okay. It's me!"

She nodded with her hands still cupped to her face. She stared silently for a moment, hesitating before she started to approach him slowly.

As she took steps towards him, the others closed in a little closer to keep an eye on his movements. Edward followed closely behind as well.

Seth never even took a breath, standing very still as he watched her every movement. She stopped nearly within and arms reach of him, observing his facial features.

"You look so….different," she said.

"It's me, mom. I'm still in here."

"Your eyes….." she said in a whisper.

"They'll change. I promise." He looked at her somberly as a tear drop rolled down her cheek. He suddenly realized he'd expelled all the air in his lungs and needed to inhale. As he took in a breath he squeezed Tara's hand. The sweet smell of his mother's blood tormented him.

Sue continued to stare at her son. Her head tilted side to side as she gazed in awe of his appearance. Seth suddenly froze when he spotted her hand coming up to his face. His eyes widened.

"Is it okay to touch you?" she asked him.

Though the others were clearly worried, Seth nodded with approval and then remained very still like as her warm, soft fingers contacted his cheek. He closed his eyes trying to distract himself with any human memories of his mother that he could, trying to remain calm. His jaw clenched when he felt the blood rushing though her finger tips as they contacted his cool skin. Suddenly, Seth felt her other hand on his cheek and sensed her inching closer to him. When he realized he could handle the situation, his eyelids lifted and he gazed at her as thought it was the first time he'd ever seen his mothers face. His eyes traced every line and detail. Her beauty astounded him.

Very carefully, he reached up and touched her hand. Its warmth heated his fingertips as he felt the frailness of her skin. He smiled when she ran her fingers over his nose and lips but when the tears began to roll down her cheeks the corners of his mouth turned down.

"Oh, no. Don't…don't cry mom, please. It's okay."

Her lip started to trembled and she shook her head. "You feel so strange. So cold."

Seth frowned and turned his head away. "Please just don't hate me for what I am."

Sue's eyes began to flood. She shook her head again. "No, never. I could _never_ hate you. You'll always be my son."

Seth tuned back and looked in her eyes. They told the truth. He took her hand in his and held it.

"I love you mom." He smiled.

Before Edward could stop her, she wrapped her arms around her son and held him tightly pressing her cheek to his chest. He gasped and sucked in a breath. His teeth clenched together again hard. Tension in the room was at a new height as they all looked upon the two of them, waiting to see what he would do. Her warmth sent a shock through his entire body like a strong current. Edward stood behind Sue, listening closely to Seth's thoughts. The first few seconds felt like an eternity, but as the first minute passed he realized he could control himself. Sue's tears began to soak through Seth shirt as she cried in his arms. She was just happy to be able to hold her son again. "I love you too," she said to him.

When he heard the words, his body began to relax and he slowly put his hands around her back and held his mother.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


End file.
